Story at a glance
- A man from England pleaded guilty to posting racial taunts online after three Black soccer players from England’s national team missed penalty kicks in the European Championship in July.
- He was spared a 14-week jail sentence but will be electronically monitored on weekends for 40 weeks.
- Authorities have arrested at least 11 people in connection to the harassment of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka.
A man who pleaded guilty for posting racial taunts online after three Black soccer players from England’s national team missed penalty kicks in the European Championship in July was spared a nearly five-month jail sentence.
Scott McCluskey, 42, of Cheshire reportedly said he was high when he posted derogatory comments about Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after the team’s loss to Italy, The Associated Press (AP) reported. McCluskey said he removed the posts after witnessing the fallout — alleging he initially intended the post to be taken as jokes.
Authorities have arrested at least 11 people in connection to the harassment of Rashford, Sancho and Saka.
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Warrington Magistrates’ Court District Judge Nicholas Sanders sentenced McCluskey to 14 weeks behind bars before suspending the sentence for 18 months. McCluskey will be electronically monitored on weekends for 40 weeks, according to the AP.
“Hate crimes such as these have a massive impact on players and their mental health,″ Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Elizabeth Jenkins said, per The AP. “The (Crown Prosecution Service) takes this kind of offending very seriously and this case shows that where offensive content is reported to the police we can successfully bring offenders to justice.”
Saka, a 19-year-old midfielder for the national team, previously slammed social media companies for policies that allegedly permitted racist vitriol to post to their platforms.
“To the social media platforms @instagram @twitter @facebook I don’t want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me Marcus and Jadon have received this week,” Saka wrote on Instagram.
“I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive and [it] is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages,” Saka continued. “There is no place for racism or hate of any kind in football.”
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