Football thug jailed after shouting racist abuse at FGR player

A FOOTBALL thug with “immature and outdated” views has been given a “wake-up call” after being handed a prison sentence for racially abusing a rival player.

Ryan Ferguson, 24, shouted abuse at Forest Green Rovers’ Jordan Garrick as the forward tussled with a Fleetwood Town opponent during a League One match on April 18, 2023.

The racially abusive language was heard by other Forest Green players and stewards at the New Lawn.

Ferguson, a Tranmere Rovers supporter, was quickly apprehended by security and, when he was arrested by the police, gave officers false details. The courts previously heard how Ferguson, of Barberry Crescent, Netherton, in Liverpool, only admitted his real identity after he was arrested.

A check of the police national computer revealed Ferguson was the subject of a five-year football banning order imposed in 2019 for pitch invasion and was prohibited from attending any matches at the time of the incident. A prosecutor previously told the courts that Garrick

was left shaken at being on the receiving end of the abuse.

Ferguson’s defence argued that he had “grown up in an environment where he got into football at a very young age”. He said: “He has been involved with this particular group of Tranmere Rovers fans who hold some quite anti-social views. People just don’t become racist, and it seems he has learnt over time while growing up. For some reason he thinks this is normal and acceptable behaviour. It’s not.”

Due to the severity of the incident, the case could not be dealt with at the magistrates’ court – and Ferguson

was sent to Gloucester Crown Court. Ferguson was jailed for nine months on Thursday.

Douglas Mackay, the Crown Prosecution Service Sports National lead prosecutor, said: “Ferguson’s actions were vile and something that none of us should ever experience at a football match – whether that be fans, staff, police or indeed the players themselves. The sentence that has been passed should serve as a wake-up call to any fans who think it might be acceptable to break the law during matches.”

The Black Footballers Partnership (BFP), the organisation set up to be a strategic voice and support for black footballers, said the sentence shows the game needs to do better to support black players.

Delroy Corinaldi, BFP executive director, said: “While black excellence on the pitch pushes the overt racists to the margins, the ignorance it personifies can only be excised when black footballers become visible as black managers, coaches, board members and owners.”

He added: “It only ends when the clubs and their representative bodies properly tackle the institutional barriers to black success off the pitch.”