Story at a glance
- An England soccer fan who posted a racist rant about three Black players on the national team has been sentenced to 10 weeks in jail.
- The judge reportedly considered a lighter sentence, but decided he would use the opportunity to deter others.
- “The words you used were antediluvian, vile, and offensive — they strike at the very nature of our civilised society and are corrosive,” Judge Denis Brennan said during the sentencing.
An England soccer fan who posted a racist rant about three Black players on the national team has been sentenced to 10 weeks in jail.
England fans react as they watch the Russia 2018 World Cup round of 16 football match between Colombia and England on a big screen in London on July 3, 2018. (Getty)
Fifty-two-year-old Jonathon Best was sentenced by Judge Denis Brennan on Tuesday after previously pleading guilty to “sending by public communication network a grossly offensive or indecent or obscene or menacing message or matter,” AFP reported.
“The words you used were antediluvian, vile, and offensive — they strike at the very nature of our civilised society and are corrosive,” Brennan said.
Brennan reportedly considered a lighter sentence, but decided he would use the opportunity to deter others.
England national team players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho missed penalty kicks in the team’s loss to Italy in the Euro2020 final, leading to a torrent of online abuse. And British police arrested 11 people in August in connection to the racist social media posts.
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“There is absolutely no room in the game, nor elsewhere, for racism. I hope this prosecution goes some way in educating and deterring people from posting hate on social media,” prosecutor Elaine Cousins said, per the AFP.
A man who pleaded guilty for posting racial taunts was spared a nearly five-month jail sentence in August.
Scott McCluskey, 42, of Cheshire reportedly said he was high when he posted derogatory comments about Rashford, Sancho and Saka, 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.
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