A teenager has been jailed for six weeks after sending a racist tweet to England and Manchester United star Marcus Rashford after the Euro 2020 final.
Rashford missed his spot-kick as England were beaten by Italy on penalties at Wembley, prompting a wave of abusive messages on social media. A court was told how Justin Lee Price trolled Rashford as he watched the game from the bedroom of his Midlands home.
He sent a tweet directly to Rashford, using derogatory language in the highly offensive message. After police launched an investigation, Price changed his Twitter username in a bid to avoid detection but eventually confessed after his mother made him own up.
Price, 19, of Grandison Gardens, Worcester, pleaded guilty to sending a grossly offensive message on a public communications network. He was jailed for six weeks at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court today (Wednesday, March 30).
The tweet, posted on July 11 last year when he was aged 18, read: "@SzzOGz @MarcusRashford YOU F****** STUPID ****** MISSING A FREE PEN MY DEAD NAN COULD HAVE SCORED THAT”, according to a CPS official.
Mark Johnson, of the CPS, said an investigation was immediately launched by the Metropolitan Police. “Price targeted a footballer based on the colour of his skin and his action was clearly racist and a hate crime," he said.
Price's solicitor said at court that his client felt "ashamed and embarrassed" by his actions, stating that he lived with his single-parent mother and only worked two days a week, leaving him with a lot of time on his hands.
"He spends a lot of time online, gaming, from his bedroom in online groups," the solicitor said. "On the night this offence took place he was with that online group, but he accepts the responsibility is his. He knows it was wrong and regretted it as soon as it was sent."
Referring to his use of the N-word in the tweet, Price's solicitor said: "It wasn't uncommon for him to hear that [in rap music] when it's not used as a racist word, so it was normalised for him - he didn't understand the use of that word and didn't intend it as a hate crime," he said.
He said his client was shocked when he was arrested and interviewed. He initially denied the offence before he went home and told his mother what had happened before ringing officers to ask for a second interview, subsequently making a full confession.
Sentencing him, District Judge Ian Strongman: "At first you denied it, but after talking with your mum, you had second thoughts, but you must have realised the writing was on the wall because you were linked to that tweet.
"The electronic age has brought many benefits with social media, but unfortunately some people take the view that it's a licence to send abusive messages, especially to high profile people while hiding behind a social media profile, saying things they'd never say in person to them."
Mr Strongman said he had reduced the jail term because Price had pleaded guilty, but he couldn't suspend the sentence because of the racist nature of the tweet. He was also ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge and was given a restraining order which prevents him from having any contact in person or via social media with Marcus Rashford for five years.
