She allegedly said that Rashford should have spent “less time playing politics.”
Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke has come under fire for a leaked message she appears to have sent following England’s heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Italy.
Rashford was one of three England players that missed penalties in the shootout. Whilst the majority have rallied around the three youngsters, the trio received a barrage of abuse on their social media accounts.
A mural of Marcus Rashford in Manchester was vandalised in the immediate aftermath of the shootout defeat as well.
Now, a message from a Conservative MP group chat has been leaked which seemingly shows Elphicke’s scathing criticism of the Manchester United forward, which has been branded as “disgusting” by some.
The message reads: “They lost – would it be ungenerous to suggest Rashford should have spent more time perfecting his game and less time playing politics.”
https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1414501837181489152
The sentiment was similar to that echoed by ‘not-yet-cancelled conservative commentator’ Darren Grimes, who suggested that Rashford stick to “penalties not politics from now.”
Both of these opinions were roundly condemned and slammed by Twitter users, who pointed out that Rashford’s work off the pitch and campaigning against child food poverty is something that should probably be praised as opposed to criticised.
One person responded: “Disgusting, Rashford gave it his best and I’m unimaginably proud of him.”
Disgusting, Rashford gave it his best and I'm unimaginably proud of him.
— Zim ✝️🇺🇦🇦🇲 | Scoop Jackson enjoyer (@gewoonzim) July 12, 2021
Another said: “It’s ridiculous logic. No one can have any interests outside of their job ever… unless you’re an MP in which case you’ll receive thousands of pounds for having said interests.”
A third added: “Maybe they should try perfecting feeding the nation then so Marcus didn’t have to.”
It’s ridiculous logic. No one can have any interests outside of their job ever… unless you’re an MP in which case you’ll receive thousands of pounds for having said interests.
— Joe Dyson🔰 (@JoeDyson99) July 12, 2021
Maybe she should spend more time playing politics and less time talking about what a football is doing in their job?
— rebecca 🌙 (@becckss) July 12, 2021
A fourth user probably summed up the thoughts of many in the best way though, simply writing: “It’s a bit weird, Natalie. He wanted a better life for children, which is more than can be said for you.”
