Football fan who racially abused Ghanaian footballer Inaki Williams sentenced to prison

 A football supporter has been sentenced to one year in prison for racially abusing Athletic Bilbao and Ghanaian forward Inaki Williams during a match at Espanyols Cornella-El Prat stadium in 2020. The incident, in which prosecutors said the man imitated monkey noises and gestures aimed at Williams, marked the first case of racial abuse in soccer to reach Spanish courts. Last season, Athletic Bilbao’s LaLiga game at Espanyol in February was temporarily halted after Williams, who was born in Bilbao to parents from Ghana who met in a refugee camp, reported alleged racist abuse towards teammate Maroan Sannadi. In the Williams case, prosecutors had initially sought a two-year prison term. But under Spanish law, prison sentences under two years for non-violent crimes are typically suspended for first-time offenders, meaning the defendant is unlikely to serve jail time unless further offences are committed. The defendant, who has not been named, also agreed to pay a fine and accepted a three-year ban from soccer stadiums as well as a five-year disqualification from working in education or sports-related professions.Reflecting on the incident, Williams said at the time he felt saddened by the racist insults, calling them “completely out of order” and emphasizing that football is a team sport meant to be played in a friendly atmosphere.The post Football fan who racially abused Ghanaian footballer Inaki Williams sentencedtoprison appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.