Euro: six weeks in prison for a British teenager who made racist remarks

A teenager was sentenced to six weeks in prison by a British court on Wednesday for making racist comments on Twitter targeting English footballer Marcus Rashford, after England lost in the Euro final. Justin Lee Price, 19, had tweeted on July 11, 2021, after the Manchester United striker missed his shot on goal in the Euro final, which was played in London and was eventually won by the Italy.

According to the Kidderminster court (central England), Justin Lee Price had first tried to escape justice by changing his username on the social network. He then denied the facts at the time of his arrest, before admitting to being the author of the tweet.

“We will not tolerate racism”

The teenager “targeted a footballer because of the color of his skin and his gesture was clearly racist and hateful,” said prosecutor Mark Johnson. “I hope this case sends the message that we will not tolerate racism and that offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.

Besides Marcus Rashford, players Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka had been targeted by racist attacks after they missed their shot on goal, sealing England’s loss to Italy. These failures had shattered the dream of an entire country which hoped to win a second major title, 55 years after its success at home during the 1966 World Cup. In September 2021, British justice sentenced another football fan to prison suspended for racial slurs posted on Facebook and targeting the same three players of color, Rashford, Sancho and Saka.