A man who racially abused Rio Ferdinand in the aftermath of the Euro 2020 final on Twitter has pleaded guilty to those offences.
Robert Whippe, 54, pleaded guilty to two counts of sending a grossly offensive message to Ferdinand in the wake of England's penalty shootout defeat to Italy in July 2021.
Whippe posted views on Twitter about the former England and Manchester United defender's commentary of the final and used emojis of a racist derogatory nature.
Whippe was interviewed by the Police under caution where he admitted to posting two tweets but denied any racial intent and claimed the emojis were randomly selected.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) review of the case and Hertfordshire Police investigation sought to prove the use of these emojis was most commonly connected with racism against Black people.
Matthew Gauntlett of the CPS thanked Ferdinand for his cooperation in the investigation after the "completely unwarranted attack".
Whippe committed a racist attack on Rio Ferdinand as he was giving his expert opinion and commentary on the Euro 2020 final," Gauntlett said.
"It was completely unwarranted and part of a disease in football that the CPS is playing its part to eradicate.
"I would like to thank Rio Ferdinand for his cooperation and support for this prosecution in what must have been a distressing time for him."
