A Chelsea supporter has been handed an eight-week prison sentence after being he posted numerous anti-Semitic tweets aimed at Tottenham supporters.
21-year-old Nathan Blagg committed the offences between September 2020 and February of this year. He was found to have sent numerous anti-Semitic posts, including pictures of a Nazi salute and Auschwitz.
When asked to explain his actions, Blagg told police the posts were simply 'banter between mates'.
As reported by BBC News, District Judge Michael Hamilton decided that an immediate prison sentence was the only appropriate punishment for the tweets, which he described as 'abhorrent and grossly offensive'.
He told Westminster Magistrates' Court: "Quite frankly, the content of these messages was despicable.
"References to the Holocaust and other matters cannot, on any view, ever be categorised as banter."
Blagg's imprisonment comes just days after an England supporter was handed his own ten-week prison sentence for live-streaming himself racially abusing Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford in the wake of the Euro 2020 final defeat.
Jonathon Best, 52, posted an 18-second video of himself attacking the players which remained live on Facebook for three days before being taken down by the social media platform.
England manager Gareth Southgate said of Best's punishment: "Well, I think it's always encouraging if sanctions are taken against that sort of action and the messaging becomes clear that it's unacceptable and intolerable so I think that's the best way to answer that really."
The Crown Prosecution Service have confirmed that they are working with the police, player bodies and other organisations to explain what evidence is needed in order to bring charges against anyone found guilty of racist abuse on social media.
Source : 90min