Susanna Reid and Ranvir Singh became emotional on Good Morning Britain today over the racist abuse some England players have faced.
Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho faced vile racial abuse online after they all missed penalties during England’s match against Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday.
Marcus issued a statement to Instagram on Monday, saying he can “take critique of my performance” but he will “never apologise for who I am and where I came from”.
Susanna Reid and Ranvir Singh in tears
In his post, the football legend had also included a letter he received from a nine-year-old boy, who said he hopes Marcus “won’t be sad for long”.
Susanna read out Dexter Rosier’s heartbreaking letter on GMB today.
The schoolboy wrote: “I hope you won’t be sad for too long because you are such a good person.
“Last year you inspired me to help people less fortunate. Then last night you inspired me again, to always be brave.
“I’m proud of you. You will always be a hero.”
Susanna became choked up as she read out the letter, having to pause briefly.
She tearfully said: “I hope Marcus feels everything that’s coming through from this letter and all the messages of support.”
Turning to Ranvir, who had tears rolling down her cheeks, Susanna added: “Ranvir, I mean honestly. It’s hideous.”
What did Ranvir say?
Pointing to the letter, Ranvir said: “That’s England. It goes to the heart of what we want for our children.
“You think about it all the time. You’re privileged if you don’t have to think about it and the only time is when one of your heroes is suffering.
“You can’t shake it off if you are in that position, you can act like you are functioning normally but all the time it is there.”
Ranvir added: “Privilege is having the choice to think about it.
“We have to remove that privilege, we all have to think about it regardless of the skin we walk in.”
Earlier in the show, Susanna revealed her children had seen the “horrific” social media abuse the footballers were facing.
She said: “It’s disgusting. It is absolutely unacceptable that that has got through any social media filter.
“It hurts me as a mum that my children and my children’s friends are seeing it.”
On Monday evening, Marcus shared his emotional statement and has gained support from his fans.
He wrote: “I’ve always backed myself for a penalty but something didn’t feel quite right.
“During the long run up I was saving myself a bit of time and unfortunately the result was not what I wanted.
“I felt as though I had let my teammates down. I felt as if I’d let everyone down.
“A penalty was all I’d been asked to contribute for the team. I can score penalties in my sleep so why not that one?”
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What else did Rashford say?
In addition, he said: “All I can say is sorry. I wish it had of gone differently.
Read more: Prince William ‘sickened’ by racist abuse aimed at England players after Euro 2020 final
“Whilst I continue to say sorry I want to shoutout my teammates. A brotherhood has been built that is unbreakable.
“For all the kind messages, thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”
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