Marcus Rashford’s penalty made public as Man United release statement

Marcus Rashford has received punishment from Manchester United for skipping practice last week, the club has announced.

Following his Thursday night outing at a Belfast nightclub, Rashford declared himself sick for United’s training sessions on Friday and Saturday. Rashford was left out of the matchday lineup by Erik ten Hag for Sunday’s FA Cup round four matchup against Newport County. On match day, the forward offered to play, but he was told to stay behind and train at Carrington.

The £650,000 fine that Rashford faces is equivalent to about two weeks’ worth of pay.

After meeting with Ten Hag and John Murtough, United’s football director, Rashford and his agent discussed the incident from last week. On Monday, United issued a statement outlining the circumstances.

“Marcus has acknowledged that he made mistakes. This was handled as an internal disciplinary issue, which has been resolved,” the statement said. 

Rashford has already received previous disciplinary action from Ten Hag. He was left off the starting lineup for a trip to Wolves in December 2022 due to his tardiness for a team meeting, but he scored the game-winning goal off the bench in a 1-0 victory.

It just so happens that Rashford will be available for selection on Thursday when United visits Wolves again. If the team led by Gary O’Neil wins at Molineux, they will surpass the Red Devils; if Chelsea and Newcastle also win in midweek, Ten Hag’s team might end up in the bottom half.