Man convicted of racially abusing Rio Ferdinand at Manchester United match

A 33-year-old man has been convicted of racially abusing former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.

Jamie Arnold made racist hand gestures and remarks at Ferdinand whilst the former was working as a pundit for BT Sport's [now TNT Sports] coverage of the game between Wolves and Man United in May 2021.

Mr Arnold was arrested at the scene following the offence on May 23. He denied a racially aggravated public order offence.

However, a two-day trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court saw him get unanimously convicted. West Midlands Police say he will be sentenced on December 8.

The Crown Prosecution Service say Arnold was caught making racist gestures on CCTV, which were also seen by several witnesses in the stands.

Upon the verdict, Ferdinand issued a thank you to the witnesses who testified, Wolves and the police officer dealing with the case.

Ferdinand said in a statement: «I’ve been involved in a Court case at Wolverhampton since MAY 2021, today the guy who racially abused me has been found GUILTY & will now have to face consequences for his actions.

»Racism will only be eradicated when we all work together as a society!

«The prosecution wouldn’t have been possible without all the help/support from the witnesses, @Wolves fans & staff that came forward to testify in court.

»Special thank you to Police Constable Stuart Ward (Football Hate Crime Officer), my family and my team at New Era!

«The match was the first game played at Molineux with fans present since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Man United winning 2-1 on the day.»

PC Ward, the UK's first dedicated hate crime officer within a football unit for West Midlands Police, said: «Abusing anyone for the colour of their skin is disgusting and can never,