A football fan has been convicted of racially abusing Rio Ferdinand at a Premier League match. Jamie Arnold hurled racist remarks and hand gestures at the former England defender, who was working as a pundit for BT Sport during the match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United on May 23 2021. The 33-year-old had denied a racially aggravated public order offence but was unanimously convicted on Wednesday following a two-day trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court and will be sentenced on December 8, West Midlands Police said. Arnold is old enough to know such appalling behaviour is inexcusable and certainly won't be tolerated Pc Stuart Ward, West Midlands Police Pc Stuart 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, ever be condoned. “Arnold is old enough to know such appalling behaviour is inexcusable and certainly won’t be tolerated. “I know from personal experience how being a victim of racism hurts while offenders risk their own aspirations through getting a criminal record. “I would like to thank Rio for his assistance in this investigation. “Through his support, we’ve ensured a man has this conviction to his name.” Arnold, of Stone, Staffordshire, was arrested at the scene following the offence, which occurred during the first game played at Molineux with fans present since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Crown Prosecution Service said he was caught making racist gestures on CCTV and was seen by several witnesses in the stands. Mr Ferdinand told a previous trial that he did not see the gestures made by Arnold, but had noted one fan’s “more aggressive body language”. Arnold was previously banned from games for three years after being found guilty of homophobic abuse and making gestures which mimicked disability during the same game. He was also ordered to pay almost £900 in fines and court costs, West Midlands Police said. A spokesman for campaign organisation Kick It Out said: “Kick It Out welcomes the guilty verdict handed to Arnold today. “It is imperative that perpetrators of discriminatory abuse are held to account for their actions and we hope this result sends a strong statement that racism has no place in our society. “We commend the CPS and West Midlands Police for their work securing justice in this case and would urge authorities across the country to take similar incidents of discriminatory abuse just as seriously. “We continue to work with partners across football to tackle discriminatory abuse as it happens and to ensure that victims receive the support they need. “We would encourage anyone who witnesses discrimination of any sort in future to report it directly to us at Kick It Out.” Read More Welsh rugby still has deep-rooted issues that need to be sorted – Alun Wyn Jones A bit far-fetched – Eoin Morgan dismisses link with England white-ball coach job England star Alex Greenwood well enough to return home after head injury Tiger Woods-designed course gives ‘a lot of options’ ahead of PGA Tour debut Golf, fish tanks, slippy socks and stray balls – freak injuries to cricket stars Nottingham Panthers invite all fans to gathering in honour of Adam Johnson

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Plenty of people will have daydreamed about getting revenge on their ex – but few can say they got their mum to knock them out cold for them. That is, however, exactly what happened for one person after a brutal cage fight took place in Poland recently. It came during the event organised by Clout MMA in the city of Plock, which included the latest in a run of bizarre MMA fights in the country and across Eastern Europe. There, a 50-year-old mother went toe to toe with a 19-year-old who had previously been dating her son. The older woman, named Małgorzata Zwierzyńska, took on Nikola Alokin in a cage fight for the event. It’s pretty common to see bad blood fights like this one over recent times, but the match between the pair might be the strangest yet. Zwierzyńska, also referred to as Goha Magical, is TikTok famous in Poland and she creates videos with her son, known as Daniel Magical. The bout saw the Zwierzyńska knock Alokin down to the ground in the first round, which contributed to the fight ending two rounds later when Alokin refused to keep fighting. It’s safe to say, the fight sparked a big reaction online. “Ultimate revenge,” one wrote in the comments section, while another said: “This is more entertaining than logan vs dillon.” A user also said: “I need to know the beef behind this because she was definitely fed up.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

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Moderation, people.