Ali: Second-year law student
The law student who called England footballer Bukayo Saka a ‘monkey’ in an online rant has been handed a conditional discharge after insisting he did not intend to be racist.
Suhel Ali uploaded an audio message on X, calling the winger, 23, a “fucking black piece of shit” after Arsenal’s defeat to Nottingham Forest in May 2023.
Mr Ali, who is currently doing a law degree at City University, last month admitted sending an offensive message by public communication network.
His lawyer, Andrew Moxon, told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that the conviction could “haunt” the 20-year-old for the rest of his life by derailing his hopes of becoming a lawyer.
In the voice note post played during the hearing, the Arsenal fan was heard calling Mr Saka “the shittest winger I’ve ever seen at my club”.
He called Saka a “n–ger” and said: “You’re a monkey – you’re a fucking monkey.”
Mr Ali said he understood how his comment could be considered racial, but that was not his intention. He agreed that the comments were not acceptable and that he would not like to be on the receiving end.
Mr Moxon said Mr Ali was from the same ethnic background as the footballer, and that the N-word was “often used between those from the same ethnic background”.
“He is a second-year law student. One can only imagine the effect this is going to have on his law career.”
Mr Moxon said Mr Ali had used the word monkey to “suggest that Bukayo Saka is dumb… It was clearly a spur of the moment post because it happened almost immediately after the game.
“He got frustrated and recorded this note and it gets sent – not to Bukayo Saka – who was not aware of the incident whatsoever. He was just firing off some really stupid, offensive remarks about how a footballer played.”
Sentencing Mr Ali last week, bench chair Kieran O’Donnell said: “We feel that on balance it was a particularly ill-advised and quite stupid thing to do. It would have been particularly offensive to anyone who heard it.
“Your lawyer said that your intention was not to be racist, but whoever heard it would basically have heard racial abuse.
“You are of previous good character. You have no previous convictions. You are remorseful. You have shown remorse. This will have a severe impact on your future prospects. You had a level of immaturity at the time. You were 18 at the time. Nothing has happened since.”
He was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £111 in court costs.
