Fan imprisoned for racially mishandling Rio Ferdinand

 

A football fan has been imprisoned for quite some time for racially mishandling previous Britain footballer Rio Ferdinand.

Jamie Arnold made the bigoted motions at Wolves' Molineux arena during a game against Manchester Joined in May 2021.

After the initial Covid lockdown, this was the first game to be played with fans inside the stadium.

The 33-year-old, from Stone, Staffordshire, was sentenced for racially bothered public request the month before.

In a casualty proclamation read out at Wolverhampton Crown Court for his sake, Mr Ferdinand said he was left upset, troubled and crushed.

He claimed that while working as a TV pundit, he had never encountered racist remarks or actions.

"His maltreatment was unjustifiable and totally unsuitable," he said.

Mr Ferdinand added he accepted Arnold expected to assume a sense of ownership with his activities.

He continued, "Behavior like this is completely unacceptable now in 2021."

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, Arnold was caught on camera making racist gestures toward the former defender, which several witnesses witnessed from the stands.

The 33-year-old, of The Glebe in Norton Scaffold, was shot out prior to being captured, West Midlands Police said.