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Harry Kane tears up as he honours England’s first Muslim player

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Three Lions skipper Harry Kane teared up as he honoured Djed Spence with an emotional speech on his England debut, becoming the first Muslim player ever to represent the senior national team.

Another historic night for sport in this country.

In case you didn’t tune in, the result against Serbia was a thrilling 5-0 victory, which saw Thomas Tuchel’s side maintain their unbeaten run, with a five-star performance serving as the perfect way to mark five wins from as many fixtures.

But, again, the headline story of the night was Djed Spence celebrating his faith in the best way possible – not to mention England captain Harry Kane paying sincere tribute to the history-making 25-year-old:

As you can see, sharing some heartfelt and inspirational words as a former Lilywhite himself, ‘King’ Kane – who was first given the armband back in 2018 ahead of the Euros – spoke highly of the Tottenham Hotspur star following his inaugural national team cap.

Confessing that he himself felt emotional speaking on behalf of Spence, the 32-year-old striker recalled first seeing the wing-back arrive at Spurs just a few short years ago before his eventual departure for Bayern Munich in 2023.

He also shared, “I know what it takes to get here”, and saw what it took on his end to make those same steps forward in his career and ultimately break into the England squad, adding, “credit to you and your family – you deserve this, mate.”

As for the former Nottingham Forest defender himself, writing on social media, Spence said: “Today is arguably the greatest and proudest day of my life. Honoured to make my England debut.

“A day I’ve dreamt of all my life and now has become a reality. GOD IS THE GREATEST! #GODSPEED“

While there have been many individuals from the Islamic faith throughout the footballing pyramid and, indeed, the FA‘s national team youth ranks over the years, Djed Spence becoming the first senior capped Muslim player in our country’s history is nothing short of an incredible milestone.

Speaking to the media after the game, which also saw Harry Kane surpass Sir Bobby Moore as England’s fifth-most capped player of all-time (now on 109), the London-born athlete admitted: “I was surprised because I didn’t know I was the first, so it’s a blessing.

“It’s good to make history and hopefully inspire young kids around the world that they can make it as well. They can do what I am doing.”

Here’s hoping he can fly the flag for British Muslims throughout domestic football and help generate further impact on the sporting world beyond that.

You can see the highlights from the game here.

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Featured Images — England (via IG/X)

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Spanish journalist rubbishes reports of Barcelona debating ending Marcus Rashford’s loan deal early

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué has come out to rubbish reports that FC Barcelona have been considering ending Marcus Rashford’s loan deal early.

The well-known football reporter, who regularly works with the likes of Sky Sports, CBS Sports, BBC and more, is one of many to have publicly decried false claims made about the Manchester United loanee, who joined the La Liga giants at the start of this summer.

Barca themselves are also said to have quashed the rumours, with Balagué’s quotes having now been widely circulated online.

Speaking via X over the weekend, the 56-year-old put it simply: that the rumblings are nonsense, reassuring that the club have plenty of faith in his abilities.

As you can see, the Catalan-born RCD Espanyol fan also chose to publicly align himself with former England footballer, Gary Lineker, who has suggested that a targeted and discriminatory narrative against Rashford has developed in recent years.

Though he didn’t state it verbatim, Balagué added: “No more to say, apart from the fact I agree with Gary Lineker and his treatment by some media.”

In case you were unaware of what he’s precisely referring to, Lineker said in a chat with the Man United forward on his The Rest Is Football podcast that he believes Rashford “wouldn’t face the same criticism if he was white.”

Having also made the move from Britain to Barcelona back in 1986 (spending a total of three seasons there), the 64-year-old knows plenty about adjusting from playing in one country to another.

You can see the interview in full here.

The interview was conducted shortly after Rashford’s loan deal was completed, and he had plenty to say about his boyhood team.

Responding to Balagué’s social media post, one commenter wrote: “This nonsense is coming from racist journalists in England who refuse to leave [Rashford] alone. They bullied him when he was in England, especially during times when he seemed unhappy.

“Now, these haters have followed him to Barcelona. Rashford is one of the kindest players in the world, but these clowns just won’t let him live his life in peace.”

It is worth noting, however, that the original reports in question and ultimately aggregated by media across Europe and here in the UK come from a domestic outlet, El Nacional.

While he is yet to rediscover the form of his peak years in United red at the Camp Nou, he is now entering what are traditionally seen as the ‘prime’ period in a footballer’s career and did show more positive signs on loan at Aston Villa during the second half of the previous campaign.

At 27, there is still plenty of time to turn things around; that being said, after being brought back into the national team and with his parent club holding an option to buy clause for around a reported £20 million, the question remains whether he will be returning to Old Trafford at the end of the term. Speaking of…

André Onana is set to leave Manchester United on loan as early as next week
Rashford’s loan may hint towards a permanent move away, but Onana looks slightly different.

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Featured Images — Кирилл Венедиктов (via soccer.ru/Wikimedia Commons)/FC Barcelona

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