Gareth Southgate: Man who abused England manager in email sentenced

A man has been sentenced for sending a racist rant to England football manager Gareth Southgate.

Brian Martin, 56, sent an expletive-laden email to Mr Southgate on 4 June after England lost 1-0 to Hungary.

York Magistrates' Court heard Martin, from Selby, criticised the team for "taking the knee" and singled out black players for their performance.

He was given a two-year community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and a fine of £120.

Prosecutor Melanie Ibbotson told the sentencing hearing that the email was seen by the personal assistant of Mr Southgate, who forwarded it on to the Football Association's security team. They then contacted North Yorkshire Police.

It is not clear if the England boss saw the message.

Ms Ibbotson said that Martin called the England manager "Gareth Wokegate" in his email and accused him of "picking penalty takers who were black instead of competent", describing it as "anti-white racism".

He also made disparaging remarks about the Black Lives Matter movement and used offensive terms to describe the team's performance in the UEFA Euro 2020 final, when England lost to Italy after a penalty shoot-out.

When arrested, Martin gave a no-answer interview to the police, Ms Ibbotson said.

He was convicted of sending a grossly offensive communication after a trial on 21 November.

Passing sentence, District Judge Adrian Lower said Martin's message was a "disgraceful, unacceptable racist rant".

"The language you used is deeply hurtful to many people, especially people of colour," he added.

As well as the fine and work order, Martin, of Charles Street, Selby, was ordered to pay a surcharge of £95 and the prosecution costs of £620.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.