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.
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.
“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.”
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
Urgent appeal issued following serious road traffic collision involving motorcyclist on M60
Emily Sergeant
An urgent appeal has been issued following a serious road traffic collision on the M60.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) are appealing for information and dash-cam footage, as well as urging witnesses to come forward, after a motorcyclist suffered life-threatening injuries during a collision on the M60 this past Saturday (12 July).
Shortly after 1:40pm, police were called a report of a collision involving a motorbike on the anti-clockwise side of the motorway, between junctions 25 and 24.
When patrols responded and arrived on the scene, they found a man in his 50s – believed to be the motorcyclist – with life-threatening injuries, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment in an air ambulance, with his family being informed in the process.
An urgent appeal has been issued following a serious road traffic collision involving motorcyclist on the M60 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The M60 was closed in one direction, between Bredbury and Denton, following the crash from around 2:30pm onwards, and all traffic was diverted while investigations were ongoing.
GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit is in the process of conducting enquiries, and at this time, it isn’t believed that any other vehicle was involved in this incident.
This is why police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or who has dash-cam footage, to get in on contact.
Police have also thanked the members of the public who stopped by the roadside to give the man initial first aid before emergency services arrived.
Police issue update on Oasis arrests and fence-jumpers
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester Police have shared an update on the arrests made at the opening two nights of Oasis Live ’25.
More than 100,000 people have flocked up to Heaton Park on Friday and Saturday evening for the first two of five Oasis reunion shows.
And largely, things have gone without a hitch, with only 15 arrests made so far.
The majority of these are arrests on suspicion of fraud, with five men and a woman in three separate incidents attempting to access the Oasis gig with fake accreditation.
Another man was arrests on suspicion of assaulting a member of security staff.
Two more men were arrested on suspicion of assault – a section 18 inside the Oasis gig at Heaton Park, and another for a section 47 outside.
Police have also said that ‘a number of people’ have attempted to access the gigs without tickets, with a perimeter gate breached on Saturday night, but ‘failed to do so’.
Five drones which breached airspace restrictions were seized on Friday.
A Section 34 Dispersal Order, which gives officers the power to direct individuals to leave a specified area and not return for 48 hours, has been in place for each night of the Oasis concerts so far.
This will be re-assessed before each concert this week, with the Gallagher brothers back at Heaton Park on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
GMP around Manchester ahead of the Oasis reunion shows. Credit: GMP
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle said: “We have been planning for these events for several months, working with partners and the organisers to make sure everyone can enjoy the concerts safely. To that end, I’m pleased to say that the first two Oasis homecoming events have been a success.
“What has been especially pleasing is how more than 100,000 people have enjoyed these iconic events safely and without trouble.
“We will have a highly visible presence in and around Heaton Park, and across the city, to ensure the next three events continue to pass safely.
“A number of people without tickets attempted to gain entry through a perimeter gate on Saturday night but failed to do so.
Credit: The Manc GroupCredit: Tiktok benwalkerofficialPolice say ‘just 15’ arrests made at Oasis so far
“We continue to support the event organisers and the local authority with their plans preventing any unauthorised access to the arena site.
“While arrests have thankfully been minimal, we have had to take some suspects to custody, including one after an alleged assault on a steward on Saturday night. We will not tolerate any abuse of anyone doing their job.
“On Friday night we also dealt with a number of breaches of airspace restrictions involving drones where our officers seized five drones and spoke to two other pilots.
“We continue to have airspace restrictions in place on the nights of the concerts and anyone found breaching the one-and-a-half-mile restriction zone could face prosecution.”
Emily Sergeant -
26th January 2022 
