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.
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They have insisted they do not support Wiley or his beliefs.
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.
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.
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“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.
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“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.”
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.
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“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)
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UK passes bill to ban everyone born after 2008 from smoking in ‘historic’ moment
Emily Sergeant
In what is described as being a ‘historic moment’, the UK has now passed a bill to ban everyone born after 2008 from ever buying tobacco products.
It’s been a long time coming, but the final draft of the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill completed its journey through the Houses of Commons and Lords yesterday (21 April 2026), and is now on its way to receiving royal assent to officially become the law.
For those unfamiliar, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop people who were born on or after 1 January 2009 from ever taking up smoking.
It will also give Government ministers new powers to regulate tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products – including their flavours and packaging, which make them more appealing to younger generations.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has hailed the bill’s passing as a ‘historic moment for the nation’s health’ on the road to creating a smoke-free generation.
The UK has passed a bill to ban everyone born after 2008 from smoking / Credit: Lil Artsy (via Pexels)
“Children in the UK will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm,” Mr Streeting said after the bill was passed this week.
“Prevention is better than cure. This reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS, and build a healthier Britain.”
The ban on purchasing tobacco products for those born after 2008 was first mooted by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Government a number of years back, but was eventually shelved ahead of the 2024 General Election, and then revived again by Labour when they took power.
The bill’s passing parliament has been welcomed by charities and campaign groups – most notably Cancer Research UK.
“This is a historic achievement that will shield our children from the devastating grip of tobacco addiction and help to put an end to cancers caused by smoking,” concluded Michelle Mitchell, who is the Chief Executive Officer at Cancer Research.
Featured Image – Pxhere
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The route for the 2027 Tour de France Femmes revealed ahead of Manchester debut
Danny Jones
The route for next year’s women’s historic Tour de France has been announced, with some of the best riders in the world set to pass through Greater Manchester and more.
Yet another big coup for the region and our sporting scene.
Speaking with the City Council, now that the full route has been revealed, our very own Dame Sarah Storey joined many in celebrating another huge moment for us; the female Tour de France is not just back up and running, but aiming to become bigger than ever.
🚴♀️ The world’s best cyclists are heading to Manchester! 🚴♀️
The routes for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2027 have now been revealed, with Manchester set to host the Stage One finish on Friday 30 July and the Stage Two start on Saturday 31 July. pic.twitter.com/OMMlhdorqP
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) April 21, 2026
The Stockport-born swimmer turned Team GB cyclist and multi-Olympic gold medallist knows all about what makes this particular sport special, having swapped a previous and highly successful career for an entirely different discipline.
As has now been fully confirmed, the 2027 Grand Départ will be getting underway with our friends in Leeds, before heading through Yorkshire and into Greater Manchester.
Upon entering our neck of the woods, the course will pass through the likes of Rochdale and Oldham into Manchester city centre, before heading into Stockport and neighbouring North West county, Derbyshire, and finally heading back through the Peaks.
Spread across two incredible days, the race itself will finish in Sheffield, with another UK first happening down in London, as the capital will also host the inaugural team time trial held in this country.
You can see the official event’s breakdown of what locations feature in which stages of ‘The Big Loop’ in more detail below.
Leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig, went on to add: “Being able to watch the world’s best cyclists in action and in such an iconic event, taking place right here on our doorstep in the heart of Manchester next summer, is going to be epic on so many levels.
“Championing women and girls to participate in and enjoy sports – including cycling – at all levels from entry through to elite, is really important to us and next year’s Tour de France Femmes is set to play a huge part in helping inspire the next generation of sporting talent from our city.
“With millions of spectators expected to line the routes, including here in the city centre, we’ll be going all out to help ensure the event’s success with what is set to be a ‘Tour takeover’ of the city to maximise opportunities for local people and businesses to get involved, to grow their own sporting skills, and to take part in the many community activities being planned.”
Having hosted everything from the BRITs and the MOBO Awards to another Super League Grand Finals in both netball and rugby, not to mention numerous other huge events over the past couple of years, it truly is a great time to be living in Greater Manchester.
Emily Sergeant -
26th January 2022 
