Tony Cascarino believes education ‘is the only way’ to combat racism after Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford became the latest victim of online abuse.
Following his side’s goalless draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening, Rashford chose not to share screenshots of the offensive messages he had been sent post-match as ‘it would be irresponsible to do so’.
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He tweeted: “Humanity and social media at its worst. Yes I’m a black man and I live every day proud that I am.
“No one, or no one comment, is going to make me feel any different. So sorry if you were looking for a strong reaction, you’re just simply not going to get it here.
“I’m not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so and as you can imagine there’s nothing original in them.
“I have beautiful children of all colours following me and they don’t need to read it. Beautiful colours that should only be celebrated.”
AFP
Chelsea defender Reece James, West Brom’s Romaine Sawyers and United duo Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial have also been targeted this week.
Speaking to Natalie Sawyer on talkSPORT’s Weekend Sports Breakfast, former Chelsea striker Cascarino admitted racism has been prevalent since the start of his football career as a child.
“I liked [Rashford’s] statement, I thought it was really mature,” said Casc. “And also not sharing some stuff, because it is a personal decision.
“It’s sometimes difficult – obviously because we’re white, so we haven’t experienced any of this; I’ve experienced it as a football player through my colleagues that I played with.
“Players who have played in teams from the age of seven. I was thinking about this last night, about some of my friends who have played and thinking of racism and abuse.
“It’s strange when you see it in a child or being given to a child because that is really hard-hitting.
“I’ve experienced abuse, but never experienced racial abuse.”
With the Football Association insisting they will work with the government and social media platforms to eradicate racism, conversations continue to be had about ending the vile abuse.
And Cascarino feels as though opening a dialogue and continuing to educate future generations about the damage such vitriol can cause is the only way to end it.
He continued: “Gary Neville said something about 15 years ago about it just going under the radar; we would have ignored it.
“If you go back even further, it was out there and no water was thrown over it.
“It was accepted, it was just okay.
“Then it went through the silent period where no one would just mention it and now we are back on the platform of talking about it, which is the only solution.
“Like every generation, from my generation and above, education is the only way. It’s the only solution, there is no other way.”
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