PFL’s Brendan Loughnane Defends Marcus Rashford from Racial Slurs After Euro 2020 Finale

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Manchester guys stand united against racism.

Following his first-round KO victory over Sheymon Moraes and the majority decision taken from Tyler Diamond, Brendan Loughnane (21-3, 4-0 PFL) captured a spot in the 2021 Professional Fighters League playoffs. Loughnane is also a soccer fan, and he didn’t miss a match from England’s path to the Euro 2020 finale. Despite all the English team’s efforts, the squad failed to capture the cup, which went to Italy after a back-and-forth finale that ended during with penalty kicks. Three English players, including Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, missed their shots, unleashing the fury of some English supporters, who went as far as racially insulting the players who missed the penalty kicks.

“I actually know Marcus Rashford,” Loughnane said while talking with Sherdog. “He’s from the same area, and to see him racially attacked was really sad. I was actually disappointed to be English [that] week after seeing some of the videos of what was going on and the way we were behaving, but everyone’s come around together and gone behind Marcus and backed him up, so that was nice to see. Anyone who’s saying all that racist stuff is just the idiots, they’re just complete idiots.”

Now, Loughnane is scheduled to face Movlid Khaybulaev on Aug. 27. The man who will have his hand raised after this battle advances to the final, where the winner will take home the much-coveted $1 million prize.

“He’s probably the most dangerous guy in the tournament,” he said. “He’s the most well-rounded; it’s going to be a tough fight, but this is what I prepared for. I’ve had the two toughest opponents, I think, the two toughest fights leading up to this, so at least when I get to the end of this tournament, I can say I fought the best four guys and got the best four wins.”

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog begun in 2018 and now he covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @MrTudorLeonte.