Patrice Evra speaks out on racist abuse and how to combat it
Top-flight club captain at Manchester United spoke out after an incident with his own fans – and was subjected to racist abuse
There were several fans in the Manchester United team bus, during Monday’s FA Cup second-round replay at Arsenal. An Arsenal supporter had brought a bottle of champagne to the bus as part of the pre-match ritual, having been a Manchester United fan for 20 years.
The bottle was passed on to a few United supporters who left the bus and went to have a few pints. A moment later, a bottle flew towards United forward Marcus Rashford. The bottle may have been only 8 centimetres, but the force was immense. It smashed into Rashford’s chest, sending blood and teeth flying into his body. He was left with a split lip and cuts to the back of his head, although only cuts that required no stitches.
Rashford has had some choice words about the incident. ‘I don’t want to take any credit for it,’ he said. ‘I think he (the fan) was trying to do something. He was trying to get the attention of the Arsenal players.’
Rashford admitted he was ‘really upset, extremely upset’ by the incident, adding: ‘Sometimes you have to let these things go. They don’t stop you from being the world’s number one.’
That’s right, Sir Alex, just let these things go…
The incident is exactly what Evra wanted to avoid. A few days ago, he was interviewed by the BBC. ‘I think it’s my responsibility because I am the captain and I have to say exactly what I feel,’ Evra said. ‘There’s no point having any problem between me and the supporters because I think with the supporters