The teenager has been jailed for six weeks
A teenager has been sentenced to six weeks in prison for racially abusing Marcus Rashford following his missed penalty at the 2020 European Championships final.
Justin Price, 19 from Worcester, pleaded guilty to sending a grossly offensive message by a public communication network after the Crown Prosecution Service found he had targeted Rashford following the penalty miss.
The Manchester United forward failed to score from 12 yards as England lost in the final to Italy at Wembley Stadium last summer.
Price had initially denied the charges during the initial police interview and even changed his name on Twitter to avoid detection, however he later confessed to using racially-charged language, as per Metro.
Price was left ‘ashamed and embarrassed’ by his actions.
During the sentencing at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court, Price’s solicitor said that the 19-year-old had been left feeling “ashamed and embarrassed” by his actions.
“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 tweet sent to Rashford included a racial slur. Price’s solicitor claimed he was unaware of the meaning behind it, having heard it sung in a non-racial way regularly through rap music.
“It wasn’t uncommon for him to hear that [in rap music] when it’s not used as a racist word,” he added.
“It was normalised for him – he didn’t understand the use of that word and didn’t intend it as a hate crime.”
Price had jail time reduced after pleading guilty
Price did have his jail time reduced as a result of pleading guilty to the charges, however the judge stated that he couldn’t excuse the 19-year-old’s actions.
“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,”the judge 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.”
Related links:
- Teen admits racially abusing Marcus Rashford after Euro 2020 final defeat
- Marcus Rashford posts statement explaining exchange with fan
- Marcus Rashford confronts abusive fans after Champions League defeat
