Marcus Rashford England team pottery charger donated to York art gallery

Potter Hannah McAndrew holds her This Is England charger

A pottery charger celebrating diversity in English football has been donated to a York art gallery.

The charger 'This is England' was made by Hannah McAndrew and donated to the gallery's ceramics collection by the winner of a prize draw.

The raffle raised £9,000 for England footballer Marcus Rashford's food poverty charity FareShare.

York Art Gallery said the "beautiful slipware pottery is full of meaning and symbolism".

The gallery said the plate's name comes from Stormzy's Euro 2020 anthem with Dave and Ian Wright, with the lyrics: "The past can't hurt us. The future can inspire us. This is England, modern England".

The charger is on display at York Art Gallery's Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) in Exhibition Square

Potter Ms McAndrew said the work was her "personal response to the Euro 2020 final when Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo were subjected to appalling racial abuse because they missed their penalty kicks".

It was won by Helen Hepburn who lives near York and she donated it to York Art Gallery's Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) to keep the anti-racism message behind the design "fresh in people's minds".

The gallery said it was "thrilled" with the generous donation.

Dr Helen Walsh, the gallery's curator of ceramics, said ceramics have long been used to share social messages; "this charger is a contemporary example" and also "reveals the creativity and immense skill of the potter"

Potter Ms McAndrew, who lives in Scotland, said although she is not a football fan she was "taken by the conduct of the English team".

"They took a very clear and united stand against racism both on and off field in Euro 2020," she said.

"Football teams have huge influence with their supporters, so using their privileged position to send out this powerful message of tolerance and inclusion to fans can only be a good thing."

On Thursday, 19-year-old Justin Lee Price was jailed for the racist Tweet he sent to Marcus Rashford following the Euro 2020 final penalty shoot-out.

FareShare said it was "delighted" with the fundraising, which reached £9,000 over 21 days in September and is equivalent to 35,000 meals.