UK Education Secretary Williamson Confuses Two Black Sportsmen During Zoom Call

Gavin Williamson is no stranger to awkward mishaps, and this time his aides have revealed that he mistook English rugby player Maro Itoje for Manchester United’s footballer Marcus Rashford during a Zoom meeting.

The top Tory Minister, Gavin Williamson, has said in an interview that he spoke with Rashford during a Zoom call.

“We met over Zoom and he seemed incredibly engaged, compassionate and charming but then he had to shoot off. I didn’t want to be the one that was holding him back from his training”, he said.

He then had to correct himself and later admit that he in fact met the rugby player Itoje, not Rashford.

Williamson's gaffe has since been discussed on social media.

Gavin Williamson's office provide a screen grab of him on zoom speaking to Marcus Rashford.... pic.twitter.com/VaKJEkyXKE

— Rob (@PolicyRob) September 8, 2021

I once had an image on my screen and I thought it was Gavin Williamson. Then I remembered I was watching UK Gold stupidity.#FrankSpencer#SomeGovernmentsDoAveEm#ToriesUnfitToGovern pic.twitter.com/zTUANB66L2

— Kaz Self (she/her) (@SelfKaz) September 8, 2021

Re Gavin Williamson:
Rashford... - has he met the footballer? “We met over Zoom and he seemed incredibly engaged... but he had to shoot off.” Later Williamson’s team tell me he actually met the rugby player Maro Itoje, not Rashford.https://t.co/dstx2r9czr pic.twitter.com/fS1VoSbb5U

— CH (@clivehoopergma1) September 8, 2021

I suspect that to Williamson, they both look the same.

— Leo Horstmeier (@LeoHorstmeier) September 8, 2021

Rashford, who campaigned in 2020 to end child hunger in the UK by providing a free school meal voucher system for low-income children, has been known to be a critic of Williamson.

Rashford laughed off the mistake on his Twitter account.

Accent could have been a giveaway 🤣 https://t.co/CO2oQjiZZ6

— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) September 8, 2021

The education secretary has previously formally held the position of defence secretary, a role lost after getting fired over allegedly leaking confidential discussions regarding the involvement of a Chinese telecoms manufacturer, Huawei, in the development of Britain's future 5G network.

British media have recently reported that Williamson, as well as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel, were to be replaced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson amid their dropping approval ratings.