Racism is a very delicate topic in today's football world. In England, there is "zero tolerance" for this kind of behaviour in stadiums, and 24-year old Brighton fan, George Reynolds, realised this recently.
He was sentenced to two months in jail for the racist remarks he addressed to Tottenham Hotspur players when they faced Brighton & Hove Albion in October. He was also rather aggressive towards other football fans from the stadium, who were telling him that his behaviour is wrong and inappropriate. He admitted in court to shouting racist slurs during the game, but also justified his behaviour by saying that he was under the influence of alcohol during the match.
After being taken out of the stadium during the match, the Brighton fan learnt quite soon about the prison sentence that he will have to serve, because of his behaviour during the game. British authorities want to set a clear example and precedent with this case, in order to combat racism during football matches.
Brighton's Deputy Chairman, Paul Barber, talked about the incident recently:
We are very happy with the Court's decision. There is zero tolerance for racism, at this club. We want to thank all the fans that helped this case with their statements.