Euro 2020: Man who racially abused Sancho avoids jail

Jadon Sancho received racist abuse after his penalty was saved in the Euro 2020 final

A man who posted a racist comment on footballer Jadon Sancho's Instagram account has avoided jail as it would affect his "innocent" mother.

Jerry Garcia-Lorca Roj-Oz, 23, from Abbey Wood, south London, commented a monkey emoji after England's Euro 2020 final defeat, a court was told.

Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka received abuse online after failing to score penalties against Italy in 2021.

Roj-Oz was sentenced to to 10 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months.

He was also given a curfew between 9pm and 6am for three months and ordered to pay £500 in compensation to Sancho.

He pleaded guilty at Bexley Magistrates' Court to sending a grossly offensive, indecent or obscene character earlier this month.

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District Judge Sushil Kumar said Roj-Oz would not be given an immediate custodial sentence because he is a carer for his mother.

The UK Football Policing Unit received 600 reports of racist comments sent to England's black players after the defeat.

Scotland Yard provided an update earlier this month showing investigations had resulted in four convictions following the final, including Roj-Oz.

The UK Football Policing Unit received 600 reports of racist comments after the final

Two have received jail sentences while the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) highlighted five more convictions across the country.

'Moment of madness'

The racial abuse received by the three footballers following the final led to widespread outcry about the protection offered by social media companies from abuse.

Thomas Beardsworth, defending, said that because Sancho did not give an impact statement to the court, there was no clear evidence the comment directly caused him fear and distress - the threshold for a more severe sentence.

Prosecutor Denise Clewes said that while the footballer did not submit an impact statement, "it was widely publicised at the time in the media the effect that it had on the players".

Mr Beardsworth claimed that Roj-Oz acted out of a "moment of madness".

Mr Kumar did not accept the defence's argument, but did not give an immediate custodial sentence because of Roj-Oz's role as a carer.

The judge said the abuse suffered by Sancho was "the most terrible and public racist abuse on an extremely high-profile media platform".