Marcus Rashford attracted criticism this week after a photo of him alongside disgraced rapper Wiley came to light.
The photo was posted by the grime artist, who was dropped by his management in 2020 amid allegations of antisemitism, with his words prompting a number of figures from the music industry to speak out.
Wiley was performing in Dubai, where a number of Premier League players have travelled as the competition goes on its winter break until early February, and he shared a photo alongside Rashford and fellow Manchester United player Jesse Lingard.
The picture was reported on by the Jewish Chronicle and Rashford, who scored United's late winner in their last Premier League game before the break, has issued a statement in response to the story in which he has reiterated his commitment to tackling antisemitism.
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"This picture has been brought to my attention which I understand now, given context, could easily be misconstrued," Rashford wrote on social media.
"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."
Wiley was banned from Twitter after a series of posts from his account in 2020.
"Following Wiley's antisemitic tweets today we at @A-ListMGMT have cut all ties with him," Wiley's former manager wrote at the time.
"There is no place in society for antisemitism."
He this week shared an Instagram photo with Rashford and Lingard carrying the caption: "Thank you @officialdjironik for getting me a booking and big up these dons."
There have been a number of antisemitic incidents in football over the last few years, including West Ham fans chanting abuse on a plane in an incident which led to a man being arrested.
Footage of antisemitic chanting and Nazi salutes came to light In a 2020 BBC documentary, while talkSPORT issued an apology to Tottenham Hotspur and their chairman Daniel Levy, who is Jewish, after antisemitic language from a caller.
Rashford, who has been a victim of racism himself in his time as a footballer for Manchester United and England, has previously spoken about the abuse he has faced.
"As I’ve got older and entered the world of football, I’ve had to deal with even more complex topics, including racist abuse and other forms of hatred and intolerance," he wrote in his book 'You Are a Champion: How to Be the Best You Can Be'.
"One thing I’m learning is that sometimes you will never quite know all the answers on a certain topic. I’m not going to pretend that racism doesn’t affect me, or that I have the perfect answer for stopping it."
