This article is more than 7 years old

Student jailed for racist Fabrice Muamba tweets

Liam Stacey sentenced to 56 days in prison for posting offensive comments on Twitter
after footballer's cardiac arrest
Steven Morris
Tue 27 Mar 2012 13.30 BST

A student has been jailed for 56 days for posting offensive comments on Twitter about the on-
pitch collapse of Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba.

Liam Stacey was arrested after his tweets were reported to police by Twitter users from across
Britain, including the former England striker Stan Collymore. The 21-year-old pleaded guilty to
the Racially Aggravated s4A Public order Act 1986. He posted his offensive comments shortly
after Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest during his team's FA Cup quarter-final tie against
Tottenham Hotspur on 17 March.

Stacey sobbed throughout the hearing and held his head in his hands when he was sentenced.
He was led away in handcuffs.

District judge John Charles told Stacey: "It was racist abuse via a social networking site
instigated as a result of a vile and abhorrent comment about a young footballer who was
fighting for his life. At that moment, not just the footballer's family, not just the footballing
world but the whole world were literally praying for his life. Your comments aggravated this
situation.
"I have no choice but to impose an immediate custodial sentence to reflect the public outrage
at what you have done. "You committed this offence while you were drunk and it is clear you
immediately regretted it. But you must learn how to handle your alcohol better."

Other Twitter users criticised Stacey's original post, prompting him to retaliate by posting a
series of offensive and racist insults, some of a sexual nature, aimed at his attackers.

In mitigation, Gareth Jones, defending, said: "The first comment [he] wrote was in relation to
Fabrice Muamba. He does not bear him any grudge and he is glad he is making a good recovery.
My client simply lost his head and posted these disgusting comments to the bitter shame of
himself and his parents."

Jones said Stacey feared his university career was over: "He is no longer welcome at the
institution because he has damaged their reputation and there are fears of reprisals."

Jones depicted Stacey, originally from Pontypridd, as a "kind and caring person" with friends of
different ethnic backgrounds. He said Stacey was due to take final exams in his biology degree and
had ambitions to become a forensic scientist, a career which was now almost certainly lost to him.
Jim Brisbane

, chief crown prosecutor for CPS Cymru-Wales, said: "Racist language is inappropriate in any
setting and through any media. We hope this case will serve as a warning to anyone who may
think that comments made online are somehow beyond the law."

Swansea University, where Stacey is a biology undergraduate, said after the hearing that he had
been suspended and a disciplinary hearing would be held.

Lisa Jones, prosecuting, told Swansea magistrates at an earlier hearing: "Fabrice Muamba
collapsed on the pitch and was believed to have died. Shortly after, Stacey posted on Twitter:
'LOL, Fuck Muamba. He's dead.'"

After other Twitter users criticised Stacey, prompting him to post further offensive and racist
comments, users reported him to police forces around Britain.

Stacey branded people who criticised him on Twitter as "wogs" and told one to "go pick some
cotton".

The court heard Stacey tried to claim his account had been hacked and tried to delete his page.

He texted a friend to say: "I said something about Muamba that I shouldn't have and tweeted
back to some people who abused me. Getting police on me now, which isn't good at all."

Police arrested him in Swansea the day after Muamba's collapse. When interviewed, Stacey
said he was drunk at the time, having been drinking since early Saturday afternoon while
watching the Wales v France Six Nations rugby match.

He told police: "I was at the bar when I heard what had happened to Muamba. I don't know
why I posted it. I'm not racist and some of my friends are from different cultural backgrounds."

The swiftness of the arrest demonstrates how seriously police are taking the posting of
potentially criminal comments on social networking sites by so-called trolls.

After his initial court appearance, where he was warned he could be jailed, Stacey was released
on bail on condition that he stayed off Twitter and other social networking sites.
A statement released on Monday by Barts and the London NHS Trust, where the footballer is
being treated, said: "Fabrice Muamba remains in intensive care at the London chest hospital
where his condition is serious but stable. He continues to make encouraging progress in his
recovery.

"Over the weekend, he has been able to sit out of bed for a short time, watch television and has
begun to eat. However, he will need to continue to be closely monitored by the medical team
for some time."

• This article was amended on 28 March 2012. The original said Liam Stacey admitted
incitement to racial hatred. This has been corrected.

More people in India...

… like you, are reading and supporting the Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism
than ever before. We will engage with the most critical issues of our time – from the escalating
climate catastrophe to widespread inequality to the influence of big tech on our lives.

Guardian reporting is based in fact, and as a news organisation, we are progressive in how we
view the world and respond to it. Many readers tell us they share our progressive values; we
made the choice to keep our reporting open for all, regardless of where they live or what they
can afford to pay. At a time when factual information is a necessity, we believe that each of us,
around the world, deserves access to accurate reporting with integrity at its heart.

Our editorial independence means we set our own agenda and voice our own opinions.
Guardian journalism is free from commercial and political bias and not influenced by
billionaire owners or shareholders. This means we can give a voice to those less heard, explore
where others turn away, and rigorously challenge those in power.

We hope you will consider supporting us today. We need your support to keep delivering
quality journalism that’s open and independent. Every reader contribution, however big or
small, is so valuable. Support The Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute.
Thank you.
Support The Guardian

Topics
Crime
Fabrice Muamba
Twitter
Internet
Blogging
Social media
Digital media
news