Wolves fan Jamie Arnold jailed for racially abusing Rio Ferdinand

A football fan who racially abused Rio Ferdinand has been jailed for six months and banned from watching live matches for seven years.

Jamie Arnold, of Stone, Staffordshire, hurled racist remarks and made monkey gestures at the former England defender, who was working as a pundit for BT Sport during the match between Wolves and Manchester United on 2021 May 23.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court, Arnold, 33, appeared in the dock wearing a navy checked suit and red tie and looked straight ahead as Judge Rhona Campbell sentenced him for his "deliberately targeted and deeply distressing" actions.

She branded him a "parasite to proper Wolverhampton fans" on a day that should have been "joyful" as home fans were allowed back into Premier League football for the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Ferdinand said he had been left "extremely distressed, distraught and devastated" by the incident and while he had "learned to deal with racist comments" during his time as a footballer, he had never experienced racist gestures or comments while working as a pundit.

He said: "Still to this day I do not know why I was abused… this abuse was unprovoked and completely unacceptable.

"I accept as an ex-professional football player there will be supporters who will voice opinions about me or whilst I am working on TV, what I don't accept is that the opinions or gestures made about me or towards me should be abusive and racist where comments are made regarding the colour of my skin and my background."

Ferdinand said Arnold had shown a "complete lack of respect for me, my family, Wolves FC and everyone associated to football".

He said: "Behaviour like this is completely unacceptable. The male needs to understand