An ex-estate agent who sent a vile racist tweet about black England players following the team’s Euro 2020 final defeat was given a suspended jail sentence today. Andrew Bone, 41, sent a post from his Twitter account which read “n****** ruined it for us” after England lost to Italy on penalties at Wembley in 2021 during the Euro 2020 final.
The vile Tweet was directed at England players Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford who missed penalties in the shoot-out at Wembley as England faced its first-ever Euros final. Racist comments made following the game were publicly condemned by Prince William at the time.
Bone was today (Tuesday, February 4) sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for a year, at Manchester Magistrates’ Court. He declined to speak outside court when approached by reporters.
Bone, of Sale, Greater Manchester, initially pleaded not guilty to an offence under the Malicious Communications Act and had even contacted police to claim his profile had been hacked, a court heard. However, he later admitted the charge and changed his plea to guilty.
At today’s sentencing hearing, Manchester Magistrates’ Court was told Bone had sent the Tweet from his account on June 11, 2021, before making another post which read “OMG I hadn’t said anything”. Prosecutor Andrew Heyes said other users then linked the account to Bone’s LinkedIn profile, which showed he was employed as a commercial building manager at Savills.
The company was then tagged in asking if they employed racists, and the company replied saying it was carrying out a full investigation. Police carried out a cell site analysis, at a cost of £2,730, to reveal that Bone had been at the location where the posts had been made, revealing his claim the account had been hacked was a lie.
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A victim personal statement by Savills was read out where the company said it had suffered damage to its brand and that the company “greatly appreciates the contribution and commitment of our diverse workforce.” The court heard that Bone had no previous convictions, but had previously posted other Tweets of a similar nature.
On November 14, 2012, he posted “If the black dude Tweets the N-word, can I RT the tweet? What the f*** is the protocol here?” In 2021, he posted “F*** the Italian, Welsh, and Scottish, let’s build a bloody big wall.”
Defending, solicitor Michael Hogan said Bone had suffered ‘consequences’ in public for almost four years following the offence, and had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of sending the offending message. The court heard that Bone’s mother had also been ‘plagued’ by poison pen letters following the incident and that Bone was ‘absolutely terrified of being committed to prison’.
He said: “The actual tweet itself was sent when the defendant was in drink, no doubt wound up by some of the other people he was with, and then deleted. We would submit it was plainly out of character. He’s not a dyed in the wool racist.”
The court heard that Bone now works as a plasterer and takes home about £1,600 per month in pay, of which he is left with around £200 to £300 after outgoings. Mr Hogan added: “For somebody who operated a spreadsheet and sat behind a computer all day long to change tack in that way, in my submission shows the effort he’s making to lead a law-abiding life.”
Sentencing, deputy district judge Barnett said Bone’s Tweet was “clearly motivated by hostility based on race,” but added that “it was a single tweet that was deleted relatively quickly.” Bone wiped tears from his eyes as he was told he would not be going to prison.
He was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to undertake 15 rehabilitation activity days. Bone was also ordered to pay a total of £1,054, made up of a £154 victim surcharge, £400 in prosecution costs, and a £500 contribution to the police investigation.
Bosses at Savills had sacked Bone from a his job as a commercial building manager, the company previously announced in a statement. Following the Euros final, politicians and public figures condemned the racist abuse directed towards England players following the match.
In a post on Twitter on July 12, 2021, the day following the match, Prince William said: “I am sickened by the racist abuse aimed at England players after last night’s match. It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour. It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable.”