West Brom's Romaine Sawyers welcomes jailing of racist abuser
West Brom midfielder Romaine Sawyers has welcomed the custodial sentence issued to 'supporter' Simon Silwood - after he was jailed for eight weeks for racially abusing the 29-year-old.
Silwood posted a message saying Romaine Sawyers should win the "Baboon d'Or" - a sarcastic reference to the Ballon d'Or trophy - following his team's 5-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Hawthorns on January 26.
The 50-year-old denied the offence, telling police his message on the group was "stupid not racial" and claiming autocorrect had changed the word "buffoon" to "baboon".
He was banned for life by Albion and convicted this month at Walsall Magistrates' Court after District Judge Briony Clarke ruled he was "not a credible witness" and had meant the post to be offensive.
In a statement on the West Brom club website, Albion welcomed the custodial sentence:
"West Bromwich Albion Football Club welcomes the eight-week custodial sentence issued to a supporter earlier today for the racial abuse of Romaine Sawyers in January 2021." the statement read.
"The club immediately banned the individual for life following his conviction on Thursday, September 9."
Meanwhile, Sawyers, who departed West Brom on-loan over the summer transfer window, provided his own statement - and called upon social media companies to do more to halt racist abuse published via their platforms.
"I welcome the custodial sentence today issued to Simon Silwood and I am now focused on putting this incident behind me." he said.
"Racial abuse towards anyone, in any circumstance, is totally unacceptable, and I hope this case will serve as a deterrent to others."
"This is an incident that has affected me deeply, but I would like to encourage fellow players to report all racial abuse to the police. We must together stand strong in order to rid the game, and wider society, of this hideous behaviour.
"It is widely-accepted that social media companies must do more to stop the publication of racism on their platforms. I again urge them to take the necessary action required to prevent anyone from receiving the abuse I experienced.
"I would like to thank PC Stuart Ward and Ian Skidmore of West Bromwich Albion for their tireless support and professionalism during what has been a difficult eight months for me personally. I would also like to applaud the Baggies fan who bravely came forward to report what they had seen. It is important we all remain vigilant in the fight against racism, so please, if you are aware of racism, it is essential you report it.
"It is important to me to turn this negative experience into something positive and I will, therefore, donate the £500 awarded to me as compensation to a local West Midlands charity."
Baggies boss Valerien Ismael hailed the sentence as a 'step in the right direction' in regards to battling racism.
"Yes it is progress. I think, finally, it is a step in the right direction." Ismael said.
"Any abuse is totally unacceptable and I think it’s the right decision to take racism seriously with a clear statement."
"I think now it will count for the next case, which is expected for sure.
"Racism won’t stop tomorrow. But least now everyone is aware and it is a punishment that if you abuse a player or somebody else - it doesn’t have to be a player - it’s great news."
