Marcus Rashford has responded after he was pictured alongside disgraced rapper Wiley.
The England international and his Manchester United team-mate Jesse Lingard were snapped with the grime artist, who sparked outrage in 2020 with a series of inflammatory antisemitic posts on social media.
It is reported the picture was taken on Sunday (23 January) in Dubai, where Wiley has been performing and a number of footballers are currently taking a winter break.
In a statement about the picture, Rashford tweeted today (Tuesday 25 January): "This picture has been brought to my attention which I understand now, given context, could easily be misconstrued.
"I would like to reinforce that I do not and will not condone discriminative language or behaviour of any kind aimed at the Jewish community or any other community.
"I truly believe that tackling antisemitism in and outside of the game requires a greater level of attention and should very much form part of the game’s anti-racism stance.”
In another tweet, he said he was unaware of the discriminatory comments made by Wiley.
He said: "I wasn't aware of comments that had been made when I got pulled into a photo opportunity. Comments that I absolutely condemn.
"I apologise for any upset caused. We just all happened to be in the same place at the same time."
Rashford has previously spoken out against racism and was widely hailed for his response last year after becoming a target for abuse following his missed penalty in the Euro 2020 final.
He has also been praised for his activism, most notably his campaign against child food poverty, and was made an MBE last year.
Lingard has also issued a statement on the matter.
He wrote on Twitter: "I've been made aware of a photo circulating currently, that can easily be misconstrued. I want to make it clear that I do not condone any form of racism whatsoever!"
Wiley was dropped by his management company after his outburst two years ago and had a number of his social media accounts closed down.
Featured Image Credit: TwitterTopics: UK News, Music, Football, Sport, Marcus Rashford
Jake Massey