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Jose Mourinho says he is powerless to stop Manchester United's Marcus Rashford being selected by England for this summer's European U21 Championships, claiming he has "no legal right" to block the forward's participation. England manager Gareth Southgate has given under-21 head coach Aidy Boothroyd the all-clear to select Rashford, 19, for the European finals in Poland in June, despite the player being a regular in the senior international squad. Mourinho spoke out earlier this season to warn that he would not support Rashford being called up by the under-21s for the tournament unless he had been overlooked by the senior team. But the United manager has now conceded defeat in his attempts to prevent Rashford being called up by admitting that neither he nor the club can over-rule the Football Association. "I don't think my opinion becomes important," Mourinho said. "The power is in the Football Association's hands and they are going to make the decision which they think is the best decision. "Whether I agree or disagree, my opinion is not important. "I don't want to discuss because maybe it will end with you using my words and my words are not strong. "I know I am the manager of Man United, I know that, but I have no right, no legal right in this situation. "They [the FA] are going to do what they want to do with Marcus." United travel to Sunderland on Sunday with only Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba making more first-team appearances this season [both have played 42 times] than Rashford, who has appeared 40 times. But while stopping short of claiming that Rashford needs to rest this summer, Mourinho insisted that the experience gained by the teenager with United this season will make him a better player in the 2017-18 campaign. "What is clear is, by playing in the Premier League, in Europe, in the cups, he is having an amazing experience," Mourinho said. "After the hurricane that he was last season, when he came in, this year is giving him a hell of an experience. "And because he is such a good boy, such a good professional, I believe this is a fantastic learning experience for him. "We believe in Marcus, that's not in doubt."
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