Justin Lee Price, 19, has been found guilty of racial hate crimes after he admitted to using racial slurs against Marcus Rashford after the Euro 2020 final.
Rashford was one of three players to scoff their spot kicks in the penalty shootout in the Euro 2020 final back in June 2021, handing Italy the title at Wembley.
He, alongside Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were racially abused for the incident, and the English FA condemned the abuses.
One of Rashford’s abusers, Justin Lee Price (username ‘@SzzOGz’ on Twitter) was traced, found and arrested recently on charges of hate crimes.
The tweet, posted on July 11 after the Manchester United ace’s penalty miss, read: “Marcus Rashford YOU F****** STUPID N***** MISSING A FREE PEN MY DEAD NAN COULD HAVE SCORED THAT”.
The Crown Protection Services found and arrested the teenager who earlier lied that he did not do it. They eventually got him to admit to making and sending the tweet.
Mark Johnson, of the CPS, said: “Price targeted a footballer based on the colour of his skin and his action was clearly racist and a hate crime.
“Those who racially abuse footballers ruin the game for all. I hope this case sends out the message that we will not tolerate racism and offenders will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Douglas Mackay, another prosecutor, said hate crimes relating to football have risen significantly over recent years.
“Over recent years and months, hate crimes relating to sporting events have been on the rise. The UK Football Policing Unit’s internal mid-season report has shown a significant rise in football-related criminality compared to pre-pandemic levels,” Mr Mackay said.
“At the CPS, we play a crucial role in tackling these crimes and making our national sport inclusive and safe to watch. There is no place for hate in football, and hate crime such as this has a significant impact on victims.”
Price will receive his sentence on March 30, the CPS said.
