suspended prison sentence for British supporter guilty of racist comments on Facebook

British justice on Wednesday sentenced a football fan to suspended prison sentences for racist abuse posted on Facebook targeting three black players he deemed responsible for England’s defeat against Italy in the final of the Euro 2020. After this defeat, the players Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, who had missed their shot on goal in the final (1-1, 3-4 in the tabs) had been the target of an avalanche of racist attacks on social networks, unanimously condemned, from the government to sports bodies.

Scott McCluskey, a 43-year-old supporter, posted an insulting and racist post on his Facebook account shortly after the loss. He was sentenced to 14 weeks suspended prison sentence in Warrington Magistrates court (northern England). Judge Nicholas Sanders said this type of online abuse is « something which can cause real harm not only to individuals such as the three footballers concerned, but to society as a whole.e ”. Faced with the scale of the scourge, several sportsmen and English clubs had boycotted social networks during a weekend at the end of April.