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A 60-year-old man who posted a series of racist and abusive messages about England star Jess Carter online has avoided jail.
Nigel Dewale, 60, was today handed a suspended sentence after posting the sick messages during Euro 2025 last summer from his TikTok account under the username Bogeyman.
The Lancashire resident was “sitting at home in drink” when he responded to a news article about police investigating online racial abuse earlier received by Carter following England’s matches against France and Sweden at the tournament.
He wrote: “Women’s football is diabolical. Should not be on national TV.
“Brownies are racist murders (sic), fiddlers and groomers. End ov (sic).”
He went on: “Racist card again. Always brownies faking.
“This women’s football should not be on TV. Waste of airtime.”
The messages were later traced to Dewale, who was arrested and charged.
On Wednesday, he was sentenced at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court to six weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months.
He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to sending a grossly offensive message via a public communications network.
Carter, 28, who plays for US team Gotham FC, was part of the Lionesses squad that went on to successfully defend their title at the tournament in Switzerland.
Speaking about the abuse earlier this year, Carter said she “didn’t want to leave her hotel room” because of the vile messages.
She said: “It was the first time where I lacked in confidence on the pitch. I didn’t want to leave the hotel in case the people who were saying those things were going to be in Switzerland with us.
“It was quite a scary time and it was just really sad. It kind of totally devalues you as a human being.
“I do not mind if people don’t like the way I play football, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But when you start attacking them as human beings and [for] what they look like, it’s a really sad thing to do.”
She added: “It’s just really sad. I felt a sense of responsibility to speak up, not only for myself, but just for anybody else that’s facing that kind of abuse. We want great rivalries, but the abuse, for me, doesn’t need to come with it.
“But that’s got worse. A lot of the players, specifically with the Lionesses, the profiles are getting huge now and every player should feel comfortable walking along the street and being whoever they want to be, and it’s getting to a place where I think a lot of people don’t feel that comfort any more.”
Carter, who urged social media companies and the police to work more closely in a bid to tackle the issue, left Women’s Super League side Chelsea during the summer of 2024 with five league titles under her belt to join Gotham FC in the United States.