Kevin Pietersen backs Marcus Rashford after his penalty miss in Euro Cup final

Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen has come out in support of footballer Marcus Rashford after he was racially abused online for missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final clash against Italy at London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

It so happened that Marcus Rashford had apologised for missing his penalty kick in the tournament-decider on social media on Tuesday. Following the loss, these three English players were racially abused on social media. A mural of Rashford in Manchester was vandalised with racial slurs but was later covered up by the locals.

Kevin Pietersen defends Marcus Rashford

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Pietersen wrote it is 'INCOMPREHENSIBLE' that Marcus Rashford should be apologising. 

Giving further clarification on the same, 'KP' wrote that is the state of society driven by social media. Backing Rashford, the cricketer-turned-commentator/analyst further added that the 23-year-old forward has ed millions of children over the last year and is now apologising for having missed a goal. Kevin Pietersen then went on to term it as 'Utterly astounding'.

"You’re A Hero Mate!", the 2010 T20 World Cup winner concluded.

 Marcus Rashford was made an MBE in October last year in recognition of his work in feeding underprivileged children, which included forcing Boris Johnson into a U-turn over providing free school meal vouchers for 1.3million kids during the summer holidays. He is held in very high regard by most people and fans across the world for his charitable work.

Marcus Rashford issues an apology

"I don't even know where to start and I don't even know how to put into words how I'm feeling at this exact time. I've had a difficult season, I think that's been clear for everyone to see and I probably went into that final with a lack of confidence. I've always backed myself for a penalty but something didn't feel quite right," Marcus Rashford wrote in a statement published on his official Twitter handle.

"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 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? It's been playing in my head over and over since I struck the ball and there's probably not a word to quite describe how it feels" the statement read.

"Final. 55 years. One penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had [have] gone differently. Whilst I continue to say sorry, I want to shout out my teammates. This summer has been one of the best camps I've experienced and you've all played a role in that. A brotherhood has been built that is unbreakable. Your success is my success. Your failures are mine. 

"I've grown into a sport where I expect to read things written about myself. Whether it be the colour of my skin, where I grew up or, most recently, how I decide to spend my time off the pitch I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from.

"I've felt no prouder moment than wearing those Three Lions on my chest and seeing my family cheer me on in a crowd of tens of thousands. I dreamt of days like this. The messages I've received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response on Withington had me on the verge of tears.

"The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up. I'm Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else, I have that.

"For all the kind messages, thank you. I'll be back stronger. We'll be back stronger."