An English supporter, who had filmed himself uttering racist insults against Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, after the lost Euro-2020 final, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 weeks in prison in London.
Jonathan Best, 52, posted an 18-second video on his Facebook page in which he launched into a rant against the three players who missed their penalties in the penalty shoot-out against Italy (1-1 , 3-2 at tab) He pleaded guilty and the court in Willesden (north-west London) condemned him for having “made public on a communication network an extremely insulting message or content”. Rashford, Sancho and Saka had received an avalanche of racist messages on social media after the July 11 final at Wembley, London, as England had the chance to win their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup. Judge Denis Brennan explained that he first considered a reprieve before opting for a firm sentence in order to dissuade others from doing the same. “The words you used were outdated, infamous and insulting, they attack the very nature of our civilized society and eat away at it”, explained the magistrate in his judgment.
Best, a forklift driver living in London, had been reported to Facebook and the police by a colleague and a contact on the social network, after he refused to delete his video. “It’s my profile, I do what I want,” Best would have replied, according to prosecutor Elaine Cousins. “There is absolutely no place in this sport, or anywhere else, for racism. I hope this trial will help make progress in terms of educating and deterring people who want to post hateful content on social media, ”she added.
In August, eleven people were arrested by English police for spreading racist slurs after the Euro-2020 final. The pre-match had already been tarnished by acts of violence, dozens of supporters without tickets having forced their way to attend the match, causing fights.
