Fan who allegedly racially abused Marcus Rashford facing huge fine after La Liga 'detected' discrimination aimed at Barcelona forward

In a statement on Thursday, Spanish authorities recommended the fine after La Liga detected images on social media of the Oviedo supporter, who is alleged to have aimed a racial slur in Spanish towards Rashford.

The statement said: "La Liga detected the images on social media and filed a complaint with the National Police.

"Subsequently, analysis of footage from the stadium's Organizational Control Unit (UCO) cameras allowed for the identification of the alleged perpetrator. The processing of this proposal will be contingent upon the final decisions made in the criminal proceedings."

The authorities are yet to confirm when a final decision will be taken.

In 2021, a man who livestreamed himself on Facebook racially abusing Rashford, Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka and on-loan Aston Villa forward Jadon Sancho after they missed penalties in England’s Euro 2020 final shoot-out defeat was jailed. Jonathon Best, then 52, was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison at Willesden Magistrates' Court.

And in 2022, a teenager who racially abused Rashford following England’s defeat against Italy was jailed. Justin Lee Price, then 19, was jailed for six weeks at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court after targeting Rashford on Twitter (now X).

Rashford has been in excellent form for Barcelona after joining them on a season-long from United in the summer. The 28-year-old is the current joint-top assist provider in La Liga, having set up his team-mates five times in 10 league games.

The England international has also impressed in the Champions League this season, scoring four goals in three fixtures, with only Bayern Munich and Real Madrid forwards Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe having netted more (five each).

With Barcelona holding the option to make his loan move permanent for £28 million (€32m/$37m) next summer, Rashford has already expressed his desire to remain with the Blaugrana.

"For sure," Rashford told ESPN when asked if he wanted to stay in Spain.

"I'm enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game. For a player it is an honour.

"People forget this, but 23 years of my life was with Manchester United. So sometimes you just need a change. I think maybe this is the case with me and I'm enjoying everything.”

Rashford has looked back to his best at Barcelona after falling out of favour at United under current head coach Ruben Amorim. Before being made surplus to requirements by the Portuguese, the United academy graduate had flourished under previous managers Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag.

Speaking earlier this week, Rashford revealed Solskjaer was the one United manager he “loved” playing for, telling Norwegian outlet TV2: "Ole is a fantastic person.

"I loved playing under him. I can speak for many of the players at Manchester United when I say that we enjoyed playing for him. We played good football under Ole. It was a very successful period for me personally. He is a fantastic person, and I don’t have a bad word to say about him."

Barcelona are aiming to bounce back from their 2-1 Clasico defeat against rivals Real Madrid when they return to La Liga action this weekend. Rashford will be hoping to get on the scoresheet as Flick’s side play host to high-flying Elche on Sunday, before travelling to Belgian outfit Club Brugge in the Champions League next Wednesday. 

Barcelona - who currently sit second and five points behind leaders Real - will then entertain Celta Vigo in the league on Sunday, 9 November before the international break. Rashford has been brought back into the England fold by manager Thomas Tuchel, helping the Three Lions qualify for the 2026 World Cup.