'I've been heckled, threatened..': Man United star Marcus Rashford clarifies viral video

English footballer Marcus Rashford took to his Twitter handle in the late hours of Wednesday and shot down claims of flipping off a fan after Manchester United’s 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night. The loss resulted in United exiting the UEFA Champions League 2021-22, which prompted an angry reaction from the Old Trafford crowd.

Meanwhile, in a video going viral on social media, the 24-year-old footballer can be witnessed reacting to a fan hurling criticism at him. The video was shot while the United team members were walking down to their team bus. 

Watch the reaction of Marcus Rashford:

Denying the use of any explicit language or gesture towards the fan, Marcus posted a long message on Twitter. Rashford said, "There are two sides to every story," before clarifying what happened on Tuesday.

"A video can paint a thousand words and in this case inaccurate info being shared on social media. Guys for weeks I've been heckled, threatened, questioned and last night my emotion got the better of me. I'm a human being. Reading and hearing that stuff about yourself everyday it wears you down. No one is more critical of my performance than me," he added.

"People were looking for a reaction from me," says Marcus Rashford

The Man United star further clarified that the video lacks context and he was heckled from the very minute he stepped outside the field. He faced abuses not only on his football and people wanted to get a reaction from him. “Phones were at the ready. Of course, I should have just walked straight past and ignored it, that's what we're supposed to do right? I want to clarify two things," Rashford wrote on Twitter.

Further clarifying the incident, he added, “the first being what I actually said to the man throwing abuse at me which (was) 'come over here and say it to my face' (a fact security can back up) and secondly, the fact I used my forefinger to direct the fan to 'come over here and say it to my face”. In conclusion of his statement, the young footballer added that he didn’t show any gesture with his middle finger as he is not entitled and that wasn’t his ego.

More about Marcus Rashford and Manchester United

Rashford made his debut for Manchester United back in 2015 under former manager Louis van Gaal and was touted as a future United and England superstar.

However, currently, people are debating his future with the Old Trafford side as he has suffered an injury-hit season this year. Anthony Elanga and Jadon Sancho have risen to the occasion in his absence, while he has made 25 appearances across all competitions in the current season and has just five goals and two assists to his name.

(Image: AP)