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Fan lands in jail for racial Twitter remark
A student who mocked footballer Fabrice Muamba on Twitter after the Bolton Wanderers midfielder collapsed during a match was jailed on Tuesday for inciting racial hatred.
A student who mocked footballer Fabrice Muamba on Twitter after the Bolton Wanderers midfielder collapsed during a match was jailed on Tuesday for inciting racial hatred.
Liam Stacey, 21, provoked revulsion with comments made while the Bolton Wanderers star still lay on the pitch. The 23-year-old midfielder was left fighting for his life after suffering a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur on March 17. Fans in the stadium and those viewing on live television watched in horror as Muamba fell to the ground during the quarter-final clash that was abandoned.
Police were inundated with complaints as public, former soccer player Stan Collymore among them, reported the student's comments.
Stacey, a third-year biology undergraduate, was quickly tracked down and arrested.
Last week he admitted inciting racial hatred when he appeared at Swansea Magistrates' Court and on Tuesday he was jailed for 56 days at the same court.
The first of Stacey's messages began with "LOL (laugh out loud) and said Muamba had died. Several people took him to task for his views and he responded with offensive comments at other Twitter users.
