A law student is likely to be facing a jail sentence after sending racist abuse to Bukayo Saka.
Suhel Ali, a 20-year-old student, uploaded an audio message to social media in 2023 in which he called the Arsenal and England footballer a “monkey” and used the n-word.
Ali has since admitted to sending an offensive message, which came following Arsenal’s defeat to Nottingham Forest in May 2023.
Ali’s lawyer stated that the message was sent in the heat of the moment, and said that his client had Nigerian heritage like Saka, as reported by LBC.
When questioned on the use of the word “monkey”, which has been used in a racist sense, the lawyer stated that Ali had just meant it to be “dumb”.
He spoke of his client: “He was just firing off some really stupid, offensive remarks about how a footballer played.”
Police found Ali through his IP address, with the help of his own mother, as reported by The Sun.
It’s said that Ali gave officers a similar account in his police interview, stating that the message was out of frustration and not racial animosity.
Saka, 23, has endured racial abuse before – infamously following the Euro 2020 final versus Italy.
Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were also targeted after the game.
Four men were convicted of abuse towards the England trio, with two receiving short prison sentences and the other two fined.
