March 30, (THEWILL) – The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that a teenager has been sentenced to six weeks in prison for racially assaulting Marcus Rashford on Twitter during the Euro 2020 final.
On Wednesday, Worcester’s 19-year-old Justin Lee Price, was sentenced at Kidderminster magistrates court. It so happened that after England’s penalty shootout loss to Italy last summer, Price threw a slur at the 24-year-old Manchester United striker.
At a hearing in Worcester magistrates court on March 17, Price admitted to transmitting an extremely insulting message using a public communication network. When the tweet was detected, he tried to avoid discovery by changing his Twitter handle, according to the CPS.
After his detention, the teen first denied the offence in his first police interrogation, but eventually acknowledged to posting the tweet when authorities questioned him again.
CPS West Midlands senior crown prosecutor, 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.”
Hate crimes involving football have increased dramatically in recent years, according to Douglas Mackay, the CPS’s sports head prosecutor. He said: “The UK Football Policing Unit’s internal mid-season report has shown a significant rise in football-related criminality compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“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.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
