Eight weeks in jail! Fan in England paid for racist insults on the internet

England has seen a major breakthrough in the fight against racism. A 50-year-old man has been sentenced to jail after racially abusing players online, the first case in the country.

The incident occurred after the West Brom – Manchester City match in January this year, when the Citizens won clearly 5-0. Romaine Sawyers, a footballer from the losing team, was subsequently targeted on social media for racism.

Simon Silwood, who was recently found guilty for his actions, was responsible. He was sentenced to 8 weeks in prison for his misdemeanour, in addition to a lifetime ban from West Brom matches.

In court he tried to defend himself by saying that he wanted to use the word “buffoon” instead of “baboon”, which was supposedly to change the autocorrect on his phone.

After the trial, Romaine Sawyers urged other footballers not to hesitate to report similar incidents.

“I’m glad that this incident has been punished and now I want to put it behind me, ” Romaine Sawyers responded in an interview with Sky Sports. “It is absolutely inexcusable to racially abuse someone in any situation. I hope this serves as a deterrent.”

“I urge all players to report any racist abuse to the police. We must stand strong and stand together to eradicate this disgusting behaviour from sport and society.”

More and more players have recently encountered racist insults online. Most of them are being insulted by fans of their teams, as in this case.

Simon Silwood and his condemnation is a big step in the fight against racism on social media and will hopefully help to eradicate such nastiness.

Source: Sky Sports