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Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard condemn antisemitism after being pictured with rapper Wiley
"We just all happened to be in the same place at the same time."
Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard have both spoken out to publicly condemn antisemitism after an image of the two with rapper Wiley has been circulating online.
The Manchester United and England pair were photographed with the 43-year-old grime artist in an image which is thought to have been taken on Sunday in Dubai, where Wiley has been performing and a number of England footballers are currently on holiday.
Wiley – whose real name is Richard Kylea Cowie, and is often labelled the ‘Godfather of Grime’ – was one of the most well-known and successful artists on the UK grime scene since the turn of the century, but was notably dropped by his management back in 2020 after making a number of offensive and antisemitic comments during rants on social media.
The rapper has been banned from Twitter and Instagram multiple times for his remarks.
Following the circulation of the image on social media this week, Rashford and Lingard have both issued statements condemning the rapper’s previous comments.
They have insisted they do not support Wiley or his beliefs.
24-year-old Rashford said in his statement on Twitter yesterday: “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.”
When further questioned on Twitter by a Jewish journalist about the context of the picture as this was “not explained in [his] statement”, Rashford responded that he “wasn’t aware” of Wiley’s comments at the time the photo was taken.
“I wasn’t aware of comments that had been made when I got pulled into a photo opportunity. Comments that I absolutely condemn [and] I apologise for any upset caused,” he said.
“We just all happened to be in the same place at the same time.”
Jesse Lingard also took to Twitter to speak out after the picture was seen circulating.
The 29-year-old said: “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.”
Back in July 2020, shortly after the rapper made several offensive comments against Jewish people on social media, Wiley did an interview with Sky News about such antisemitic beliefs, where he refused to distance himself from them, and claimed the comments were aimed at his Jewish manager.
“My comments should not have been directed to all Jews or Jewish people,” he said.
“I want to apologise for generalising, and I want to apologise for comments that were looked at as antisemitic.”
Sky News was strongly criticised for giving the rapper a platform to explain himself.
Featured Image – Instagram (@manchesterunited | @jesselingard)
News
Manchester City staff member sacked after wearing Man United shirt to shift
Danny Jones
Man City have divided a fair few supporters after they sacked a barman for wearing a United shirt to their shift during the Manchester derby.
Although it’s not exactly surprising, the decision has ruffled plenty of feathers on both sides, as well as among neutral fans.
The Blues emerged victorious in the 197th clash between the two local rivals, winning 3-0 on an evening that paid tribute to the late, great Ricky Hatton, but another backstory looming over the fixture that caught the attention of football fans online was the City staff member who lost his job.
Working on concessions inside the Etihad Stadium before the game, the barman was made known to the official MCFC Matchday Support channel on X, who quickly confirmed he had been let go before the game even began.
In the since-deleted post, the home fan who reported the worker wrote: “Absolute joke – letting one of the bar staff in block 315 wear a United shirt on Derby Day.”
Although many City fans applauded the fast action by the club on the day, it’s fair to say that sacking him so soon that he didn’t even last until kick-off has rubbed many others the wrong way.
One Liverpool fan commented: “I hate United way more than City, but to sack him from a job because of an item of clothing is crazy. So, so poor from Manchester City, this. It’s just football lads, he’s not wearing a political or derogatory symbol. It’s literally a football team…”
Another neutral added: “Getting a minimum wage worker sacked for having a bit of fun instead of just winding him up is the absolute sad state this country is in.”
Even the ‘Out Of Context Football Manager‘ parody account chipped in, writing: “The guy’s been sacked for this. All he needed was a formal warning. I get he’s taking the p*ss – but losing a salary he might really need over this?!
While many have been even more outspoken in their response, as you can see, many supporters – be they Red or otherwise – have come up with arguably the perfect solution:
Manchester City are yet to comment on the backlash, apart from the initial confirmation that the still-anonymous staff member has been released from his position, but as for Man United, simply sticking him on the kiosks in the Stretford End could prove to be a very easy bit of positive PR.
Besides the growing frustration around the fanbase, as Ruben Amorim has yet to turn things around at Old Trafford (pressure was growing even before the derby day defeat), the Red Devils could no doubt do with some positive press for a change.
In fact, it was only earlier this year that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO Omar Berrada and the wider INEOS Sports administration sanctioned a second round of redundancies at United, with approximately 450 individuals losing their jobs.
That being said, although some have labelled the sacking of the now ex-City barman as “absolutely horrendous behaviour” for Man City, many jumped to quip back that “[United are] more likely to sack more bar staff, not hire them”, as well as simultaneously taking aim at their significant transfer spending.
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Featured Images — Mataniels via X (now deleted)/The Manc Group
News
Teen arrested on suspicion of murder after 15-year-old boy is killed in Moss Side stabbing
Emily Sergeant
A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the killing of a 15-year-old boy in Moss Side yesterday.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called out to reports of a ‘disturbance’ involving a number of people on Monton Street in Moss Side at just after 4:30pm yesterday (15 September), and when they arrived on the scene, they found a 15-year-old boy with serious stab wounds.
After being treated both at the scene and later in hospital, the boy was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
A murder investigation was subsequently launched.
Due to the shocking nature of the incident, police confirmed that a Section 60 – which allows officers to ‘stop and search’ people within a specific area – has been put in place until 5:20pm this evening.
With enquiries currently ongoing, and GMP describing the investigation as ‘progressing at pace’, it has now been confirmed that a teenager, also a 15-year-old boy, the same as the victim, has been arrested on suspicion of murder, and he remains in police custody for questioning.
His family are aware of this development and continue to be supported by specially-trained officers.
“There is a thorough investigation plan in place as we look to find the perpetrator of this appalling act that has seen a young man lose his life,” explained Chief Superintendent David Meeney, from GMP’s City of Manchester district.
“This incident will understandably have caused shock and concern within the community and the surrounding area, particularly those who witnessed it, so you will see an increased police presence in the area over the coming days.
“We remain committed to providing the victim’s family with the answers they deserve.”
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Anyone with any information, or who may have been in the area at the time of the incident, is urged to contact GMP on 101 or online, quoting log 2327 of 15/09/25.
You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
