Bognor man gets football banning order for online anti-Semitic abuse

Police said Kerry Hardwell, 35, from Bognor, sent anti-Semitic messages to a fellow supporter of Chelsea Football Club.

Police said Hardwell directed abuse at Dan Levene, who had formerly covered Chelsea Football Club as a journalist and campaigned against racism and antisemitism in football.

A Sussex Police spokesperson said: “Hardwell also regularly posted hate speech using anti-Semitic tropes towards other public figures on social media.

“In August last year a post on Twitter was reported to the police by Mr Levene, and an investigation was launched by Sussex Police. Hardwell was charged with sending an offensive, indecent, menacing, obscene message or matter via a public communication network, contrary to the Communications Act. He admitted the charge, and appeared before Worthing Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on Tuesday, July 25. The court noted that the offence was racially aggravated, and a football banning order has been imposed.”

Mr Levene shared a victim impact statement with the court. He said: “The 'Y-word' is three letters that are often thrown away by people who may claim they don’t fully appreciate their collective meaning; with some football fans among that number. But everyone, most notably the defendant here, should be aware that it is a racially offensive word – and its use in a pejorative sense, as in this case, is a hate crime.

“This word, and variants of it, have been used throughout history by extremists to demonise and persecute a minority. My minority. This history is relevant, because it explains the pernicious nature of the word's usage today.”

Mr Levene added that the impact of messages like these had partly influenced his decision to stop reporting on Chelsea.

Police said that Hardwell, a scaffolder of Westminster Drive, Bognor, was sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work, with £85 costs and a £114 surcharge. The court also imposed a three-year Football Banning Order which restricts his access to attending professional football matches in England.

After the case, Sussex Police’s Dedicated Football Officer PC Darren Balkham said: “The vitriol in the messages were sent in the belief that because the person was behind a keyboard, they wouldn’t be identified. The defendant was wrong, and Harding will now have learned this lesson. There is no place for anti-Semitic and racist abuse, either in football or in society. During this case we have liaised closely with Metropolitan Police and with Chelsea FC to ensure the club have the full facts of the investigation for their own action to be taken.”

A spokesperson for Chelsea Football Club said: "Chelsea FC condemns anti-Semitic abuse and hate speech in all its forms and we have no tolerance for it at our club. As soon as Sussex Police made us aware, Mr Hardwell was suspended pending the outcome of criminal proceedings. Subsequent to Mr Hardwell’s conviction, we can confirm that he has been issued with a lifetime ban from Chelsea FC.”

Police said Sussex County Football Association has also been informed of the banning order imposed.