A Wrexham fan has been handed a three-year ban from football after being charged with ‘racist’ abuse for calling a group of Tranmere supporters “English b*stards.”
Red Dragons supporter Daniel Thomas Monk, 21, admitted to a racially aggravated public order offence at Wrexham Magistrates’ Court this week. The incident dates back to Wrexham’s clash with Tranmere at the SToK Racecourse on March 21. Daniel approached a group of Tranmere fans during said clash, calling them “dirty Scouse b*stards” before following up that up with “dirty English b*stards”.
Daniel was arrested at the scene after his insults were picked up on body cameras worn by police. In court, he was given a three-year ban from all football matches as well as a £768 ($969) fine. Harsh!
Obviously we’re all for giving stadium bans to people who step out of line and say racist things at football matches, but does a Wrexham fan calling a Tranmere fan an “English b*stard” really fall under that category? It’s mildly xenophobic, at worst.
In fact it’s standard football banter that you’d be disappointed if you didn’t hear at a game between a Welsh club and English club. What next? Are we going to start arresting and banning fans who call Wrexham supporters “sheep sh*ggers”?
The funniest part is that I bet the English supporters weren’t offended at all. Daniel just got unlucky that his comments were heard by police/caught on bodycam and they decided to arrest him there and then.
Still, I suppose setting a precedent that you shouldn’t abuse people based on where they’re from isn’t the worst idea in the world. It’s just sad to think that Welsh and English football fans can’t banter each other on that level anymore. In this case, I think a slap on the wrist would have sufficed.
For the Norwegian footballer who scored a wonder goal this week and revealed his plans to w@nk off to the highlights in the post-match interview, click HERE.
