A man has been jailed for six weeks for racially abusing Marcus Rashford on Twitter following the Euro 2020 final.
19-year-old Justin Lee Price, of Worcester, was sentenced at Kidderminster magistrates court on Wednesday.
As reported by the Guardian, the court heard on 17 March how Price sent a slur to Rashford after England's penalty shootout defeat to Italy at Wembley in July 2021.
The Crown Prosecution Service said that the teeanager denied sending the abuse in his initial police interview, but later admitted doing it when questioned on a second occasion.
Senior crown prosecutor for CPS West Midlands, Mark Johnson, said: “Price targeted a footballer based on the colour of his skin and his action was clearly racist and a hate crime.
“Those who racially abuse footballers ruin the game for all. I hope this case sends out the message that we will not tolerate racism and offenders will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Douglas Mackay, the CPS sports lead prosecutor, added that football-related hate crimes had spiked considerably in recent years.
“The UK Football Policing Unit’s internal mid-season report has shown a significant rise in football-related criminality compared to pre-pandemic levels,” he said. “At the CPS, we play a crucial role in tackling these crimes and making our national sport inclusive and safe to watch.
“There is no place for hate in football and hate crimes such as this has significant impact on victims.”
For more from Matt O’Connor-Simpson, follow him on Twitter
Source : 90min