Andy Robertson has hailed the influence of Marcus Rashford and his campaign to end child food poverty as he opened up on his fears of the increasing number of people relying on food banks.
The Man United striker has been at the forefront of a campaign to end child food poverty in the UK, taking on the Tory government and holding them to account.
Local businesses immediately came to the fore to cover the shortfall and after a series of u-turns, the Conservative Party finally agreed to a £170 million Covid winter grant to support vulnerable families in England, the first step of many.
And Robertson has applauded Rashford for his efforts as while everyone wishes it was a job he and others didn’t need to do, the Scot was quick to state that he is “a credit to football.”
“Marcus is a credit to everyone in the way he goes about his business and, of course, I’m sure he wished he didn’t have to do it either,” Robertson told The Big Issue.
“We’re all in the situation where people need to start doing things and he’s at the top of that tree just now.
“He’s a credit to football. Forget any rivalry, it’s nothing because we all have the same view as Marcus on this. He is definitely making his voice heard.”
While certainly not one to shine the light on himself, Robertson is an active force in seeking change and helping others having set up a charity in his name ‘AR26’ and joined forces with Street Soccer Scotland, in addition to his regular donation to foodbanks.
But the pandemic has shone an even brighter light on footballers and their capacity to lend a helping hand and while many do just that under the radar, the headlines of their wages mean they are subject to widespread scrutiny.
And Robertson was eager to stress that his Liverpool teammates are “socially conscious” and are always seeking for ways to help, but he cannot help but worry over the increasing number of people relying on foodbanks.
“We’re socially conscious, of course we are. Our chat in the last couple of months on the training ground is probably no different than a lot of people’s workplaces.
“We’re in fortunate positions but some of our family face uncertainty, our friends face uncertainty and, of course, the wider community do so we are very conscious of it.
“We’re very concerned about how it’s all going to pan out, but if we can help in any way possible then we’ll look to do that. We’re not going to solve the problem that the pandemic has left alone.
“But if everyone pulls in the right direction, then we can hopefully get the economy back to where it was and get people back in work.
“People don’t want to rely on benefits or food banks because work is their community and it is their life and that’s been taken away from them through unforeseen circumstances.”
“We can at least give people a meal each day and make sure they’re fed whatever their circumstances are,” he continued. “It doesn’t sit well with me if we don’t.
“It’s incredible the amount of people that rely on food banks, it’s scary. And, unfortunately, that number is only going to get higher with what’s going on in the world just knowing people are losing jobs and things like that.
“So people that are fortunate enough to have a job and get paid well – I believe we can give that back because these people need us now probably more than ever.”
* If you are looking to make a donation to help the city of Liverpool, This Is Anfield have provided a small list of those working to help those in need:
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