A teenager has received a jail sentence after sending out racist tweets to England footballer Marcus Rashford following the Euro 2020 final. Justin Lee Price sent out the offensive messages to the Man United star while he watched the game from his bedroom in his Midlands home, the court heard.
The tweets were directed to Mr Rashford after he missed a penalty during the shoot-out. The highly offensive message used derogatory language towards the player as England lost the match to Italy.
Following a police investigation into his tweet, Price changes his Twitter username in an attempt to avoid detection. But he changed his mind and confessed to the tweets after his mother convinced him, Birmingham Live reports.
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Price, 19, of Grandison Gardens, Worcester, pleaded guilty to sending a grossly offensive message on a public communications network. He has now been jailed for six weeks at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court today (March 30).
He posted the tweet on July 11 last year when he was aged 18. It 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.
During court today, Price's solicitor said his client felt "ashamed and embarrassed" by the tweets. He noted how he lived with his single-parent mother and only worked two days a week, leaving him with a lot of free 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."
The solicitor added that Price used the N-word in the tweet because he listens to a lot of rap music where the word is commonly used. "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 noted how his client was shocked when he was arrested for the tweets two months later and taken to a police station to be interviewed. Initially, he denied the offence, but when he returned home and told his mother what had happened she explained the severity of his actions.
Following this interaction, Price called police officers and arranged for a second interview where he made a full confession. His solicitor also claims that public media coverage of the incident has left him traumatised, stating: "He lost weight and showed signs of mild depression - this whole episode has been detrimental to his mental health."
District Judge Ian Strongman, sentencing, said that while he understood how "emotionally charged" fans were after England's defeat, it was no excuse for what Price did. "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," he said.
"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 stated that Price's jail term has been reduced because he pleaded guilty, although the sentence could not be suspended due to the racist nature of the incident. Price has also been ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge and has received a restraining order which prevents him from having any contact in person or on social media with Marcus Rashford for five years.
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