Rhian Brewster: 14-year-old boy referred to Youth Offenders for racially abusing Sheffield United striker | Football News
2 min read
A 14-year-old boy has been referred to Youth Offending Services after racially abusing Sheffield United striker Rhian Brewster on Instagram.
The England U21 international highlighted the racist abuse he received on March 18 and South Yorkshire Police launched an investigation at the time.
Their probe identified individuals outside of their force area and two cases were transferred to Staffordshire Police and West Yorkshire Police.
Officers in Staffordshire spoke to a 14-year-old boy, who accepted responsibility for the abuse.
A spokesman for the force told Sky Sports News: « In June 2021, colleagues from South Yorkshire Police contacted us regarding a report of online racist abuse of a footballer.
« Following enquiries, a 14-year-old boy was located and spoken to by officers.
« He has accepted responsibility and in line with the victim’s wishes, has been referred to Youth Offending Services. »
The Youth Offending Service is run by each local authority in England and Wales and is designed to « put right the harm already done and prevent future offending ».
Sky Sports News has contacted West Yorkshire Police and Instagram for updates on their own investigations.
In March, Instagram said they were unable to take action against the offending users as the abuse had not been reported using their « in-app tools ». The social media company reached out to the striker’s representatives to let them know how to report it officially.
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