Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford took to social media to pre-emptively defend himself against a tabloid hit article that had threatened to publish a photo of the footballer with an unnamed rapper.
Rashford did not identify the person and strongly insisted he had no existing or subsequent connection to him other than posing for a photograph.
“I was contacted today by a tabloid who informed me that they plan to publish a photo of me with a rapper that appears to have been taken over a year ago,” United continued Instagram. “I want to make it clear that I have never seen this photo, I do not know this person and I am not friends with him.
“Like most footballers, I will never refuse if someone asks for a photo with me, but I am obviously unable to carry out a background check on every person who asks me for a photo.”
“May I please ask the tabloids to use their platforms to raise positive awareness of the many charities and individuals who work every day across the UK to tackle knife crime, rather than focusing on me to prevent that more families will suffer tragic losses.”
Rashford concluded his post with the message: “My deepest condolences go out to the family of Jimmy Mizen.”
Jimmy Mizen died on May 10, 2008, aged 16, outside a bakery in south London after being hit by a glass dish that severed an artery in his neck. Jake Farhi, then 19, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 14 years for murder in 2009.
Farhi was released in 2023 and was recently investigated by the Justice Department after reports that he released music under the stage name TEN that references Mizen’s murder BBC.
Jimmy Mizen’s parents, Margaret and Barry, founded the Mizen Foundation as a nonprofit organization to “help build safer and more peaceful communities.”
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