Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford receives barrage of racial abuse after loss in Europa final

London – Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford said he was subjected to “at least 70 racial slurs” on social media following Wednesday’s defeat against Villarreal in the Europa League final.

United lost 11-10 in a shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time in Gdansk, Poland.

“At least 70 racial slurs on my social accounts counted so far,” Rashford tweeted. “For those working to make me feel any worse than I already do, good luck trying.”

United tweeted after the game that players were subjected to “disgraceful racist abuse” and urged users to report any form of abuse or discrimination through their online reporting tool.

A host of players at Premier League clubs have been targeted in the past few months, including United’s Anthony Martial, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, Liverpool’s Trent-Alexander Arnold and Sadio Mane and Chelsea’s Reece James.

In February, English soccer bodies sent an open letter to Facebook and Twitter, calling for blocking and swift takedowns of offensive posts and an improved verification process for users.

Instagram has announced new measures and Twitter vowed to continue its efforts after taking action on over 700 cases of abuse related to soccer in Britain in 2019.