Following the final defeat of England by Italy at the Euro 2020, Rio Ferdinand, the former Man United and England defender, became a target on social media. Although the defeat was not expected, punters cashed out from the result with many getting tips from sites like kladenjeonline.com.

So, back to the racial abuse news, Robert Whippe, a 54-year old man has pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of sending highly offensive messages with racially derogatory emojis to Rio Ferdinand.

It was gathered that Whippe posted a series of derogatory tweets in his commentary about the former Manchester United and England defender. This was after the defeat of England in July 2021. After the loss of the penalty shoot-out to Italy, Robert Whippe took to his Twitter page to post his supposed expert opinions on Rio Ferdinand’s commentary of the match.

While giving his opinions, he used derogatory emojis that are termed offensive. While being interviewed, the football fan admitted to tweeting twice but refuted the claim that the tweets have any racial undertone. According to him, he randomly selected the emojis and did not have any racial intentions while sending them.

Highlights of the CPS Investigation

While reviewing the case, the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) and Hertfordshire Police sought to validate that these emojis were often used in connection with racist remarks against Black people. According to Matthew Gauntlett, a member of the CPS team, the attack on Rio Ferdinand was completely unwarranted.

Whippe is said to have committed a racist attack on the former Man U and England defender while giving commentary and expert opinion on the Euro 2020 final. Gauntlett emphasized that the attack was completely unwarranted and it is a part of the major issue in football that the CPS is working towards eradicating.

He went further to appreciate Rio Ferdinand for his support and cooperation all through the prosecution, even though the situation must be distressing for him.
While talking about the situation, Ferdinand informed the parliament select committee for the Online Safety Bill that a rise in online abuse and racist attacks is having a negative effect in stadiums. He opined that more actions need to be taken to combat and reduce it.

War against Racism and Racist Comments

CPS affirms that work is ongoing among the CPS, clubs, player bodies, clubs, the police, and organizations, such as the EFL, the FA, and the Premier Leagues. The Crown Prosecution Service is determined to create awareness of the prosecution process for these crimes and the type of information required to pass the charging threshold to build a strong case.

While talking about the prosecution procedure, Douglas Mackay of the CPS stressed that hate crime has no place in society and never in sports. He went further to reveal that the team has witnessed an increase in reports of racist abuse during football matches in stadiums and online and the CPS is determined to contribute its best to cut this out of the scene.

He implores the general populace to report any homophobic or offensive racist language to the police for investigation. When the legal tests of adequate evidence and public interest are satisfied, the CPS will proceed to serve justice through prosecutions of the horrendous actions.