Tweeter jailed after racist Muamba post
A student has been jailed after posting racist messages about Bolton Wanderers player Fabrice Muamba.
Liam Stacey, 21, posted comments about the player after he collapsed on the pitch from a heart attack during an FA Cup game against Tottenham earlier this month.
Several users complained to police about the comments from the Swansea University student.
Stacey claimed the account had been hacked and also attempted to delete the page in an effort to distance himself from the ensuing row, the court heard.
A police interview saw the student claim he was drunk when he sent the tweets.
Speaking to the court, prosecuter Lisa Jones said: "Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch and was believed to have died. Shortly after, Stacey posted on Twitter: 'LOL, F**k Muamba. He's dead'."
When other users criticied Stacey, he replied with further offensive and racist abuse, Ms Jones said.
He texted a friend to say: "I said something about Muamba that I shouldn't have and tweeted back to some people who abused me. Getting police on me now, which isn't good at all."
In the initial bail judgement, Stacy was banned from using Twitter and other social media sites.
He has now been jailed for 56 days.
The speed of the arrest and the severity of the sentence are signs police are intent on cracking down on racist and abusive posts on the social media site.
