A LAW student who branded England star Bukayo Saka a “monkey” in an online rant is facing jail.
Arsenal fan Suhel Ali, 20, uploaded an audio message on X, calling his club’s winger a “f***ing black piece of s**t”.
In the voicenote post, played in court, he was also heard describing him as “the s***test winger I’ve ever seen at my club.”
He also called Saka, 23, the N-word and said: “You’re a monkey – you’re a f***ing monkey.”
Ali, who studies at London’s City University, admitted sending an offensive message.
District Judge Briony Clarke bailed him until October 8, saying: “I’m not going to sentence you today — but I’m not ruling anything out.”
Read More on Sport
Ali’s outburst came after Arsenal’s 0-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on May 20, 2023.
The result secured Forest’s Premier League survival while Arsenal’s title rivals, Man City, were crowned champions.
Police tracked down Ali via his IP address with the help of his mother, who spoke to officers on the phone and gave them his email address.
In a police interview, Ali said he sent the note out of frustration and it was not intended to be racist, Westminster magistrates’ court heard.
Most read in Football
His lawyer, Robert Moxon, pointed out that Ali, like Saka, was of Nigerian heritage, saying he acted on the spur of the moment.
He claimed: “He used the N-word in that tweet but he’s using that not in a racial context but in an offensive context.”
The judge responded: “What about ‘monkey’, though?’”
After taking instruction from his client, Mr Moxon told the judge that Ali, from Wembley, North West London, used the word to “suggest that Bukayo Saka is dumb”.
He added: “He was just firing off some really stupid, offensive remarks about how a footballer played.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
