Marcus Rashford spoke out on Monday about the racist abuse he received after the Euro 2020 final, saying: he will never apologise “for who I am”.

Black players Rashford, 23, Jadon Sancho, 21, and Bukayo Saka, 19, were racially abused after they missed penalties in a shootout with Italy which settled Sunday’s final.

Rashford said he could take criticism “all day long” and that his missed penalty “should have gone in”. But, he added: “I won’t apologise for who I am and where I came from.”

He said he had “felt no prouder moment than wearing those three lions on my chest”, cheered on by tens of thousands, and that he had “dreamt of days like this”.

He thanked fans for their “overwhelming” messages and the people of Withington, Manchester, where a mural of the footballer was defaced, who he said “had me on the verge of tears” with their messages of support.

He added: “The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up. I’m Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old, black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, south Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that.”

Lastly, he said: “For all the kind messages, thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”

The fans he was referring to drew hearts and wrote messages calling him a hero to cover the racist graffiti on the Coffee House café mural in Withington. It was defaced hours after his missed penalty in the shootout. The graffiti included the words “**** Sancho” referring to Sancho who missed in the shootout.

“We love you!,” read one of the messages. One pink heart was affixed on the mural with the simple word: “Hero”. “You have stood up for us repeatedly, now it’s time for us to stand up for you!” read another.

The mural, created by the French graffiti artist Akse, features a painting of Rashford with the phrase: “Take pride in knowing that your struggle will play the biggest role in your purpose.”

Akse went to the scene on Tuesday and repaired his work.

The group that commissioned the mural said that the vandals should be educated rather than punished.

The police condemned the “disgraceful” damage, adding: “Hate crime in any form is completely unacceptable and not welcome here in our city.”

Uefa step

Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings and charged England’s Football Association (FA) for disturbances during the final at Wembley, Europe soccer’s governing body said on Tuesday.

Uefa also said it had appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to conduct a separate investigation into the “events involving supporters which occurred inside and around the stadium”.