A teenager who sent a racially abusive tweet to Marcus Rashford following England’s defeat in the Euro 2020 final last year has been jailed.
19-year-old Justin Lee Price, from Worcester, has been jailed for six weeks after pleading guilty yesterday at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court to “one count of sending a grossly offensive message by public communication network” aimed at the Manchester United and England footballer in the aftermath of England’s loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final last July.
Price directed a slur at the 24-year-old striker after he missed a penalty in England’s shoot-out heartache against at Wembley last summer.
The court heard that after being arrested, the teenager initially denied the charges during a police interview, and even changed his name on Twitter to avoid detection – however he later admitted to posting the tweet when he was questioned by officers a second time.
Price’s solicitor said he was “ashamed and embarrassed” by his actions, but that living with a single-parent mother and only working two days a week left him with a lot of time on his hands.
As Price chose to plead guilty, his jail time was subsequently reduced.
ADVERTISEMENT
⚖️ A Worcester teenager has been jailed for racially abusing Marcus Rashford.
Justin Lee Price was sentenced to six weeks' immediate imprisonment today (30 March 2022) at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court.
— Crown Prosecution Service West Midlands (@CPSWestMids) March 30, 2022
The news on Price’s sentencing comes after another man was jailed in September 2021 for posting racist and insulting comments on his Facebook page about Rashford, and his fellow England teammates, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, after they each missed penalties in the shoot-out which led to Italy’s win.
The abuse of the young players sparked widespread condemnation and led to an outpouring of support for the trio, and the news of Price’s sentence has been welcomed by a number of organisations in the football community, including leading equality and inclusion campaign Kick It Out.
“It is unacceptable that footballers continue to endure racist hate and abuse online, as well as in stadiums,” a Kick It Out spokesperson told Sky News.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Marcus Rashford mural in Withington was covered in messages of support after the Euro 2020 final / Credit: Flickr
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says it is currently working with the police, clubs, player bodies and organisations, such as the Premier League and the Football Association (FA), to explain what evidence is required to charge racial abusers, and it hopes this will help protect players by ensuring “we have all the evidence we need to build the strongest case possible”.
Mark Johnson, senior Crown prosecutor for CPS West Midlands, said: “Price targeted a footballer based on the colour of his skin and his action was clearly racist and a hate crime.
“Those who racially abuse footballers ruin the game for all, and I hope this case sends out the message that we will not tolerate racism and offenders will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Five Manchester bars have just been named in the UK’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars
Daisy Jackson
Five bars in Manchester have just received one of the industry’s highest accolades – a place in the UK’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars.
In a glittering ceremony down in London today, the best in the cocktail industry were crowned, and our city has a lot to be proud of.
Manchester now has five cocktail bars in the Top 50, with two new entries this year.
And while Schofield’s has been toppled from the top spot this year, this award-winning bar on Quay Street is still heading home with a podium finish, now ranked the third-best bar in the entire UK.
One of the new faces on the prestigious list is Stray, a beautiful cocktail bar tucked into a corner of Mackie Mayor.
Famed for its tomato vine margaritas, as well as the pain-staking effort the team goes to to infuse their own spirits and make their own cordials, Stray has deservedly debuted at number 25. And we have a feeling they’re just getting started.
Red Light is another new name on the list, after taking home the coveted ‘One To Watch’ award in 2024.
Red LightStrayBlinker
The gorgeous LGBTQ+ cocktail bar on Little David Street at Kampus has placed 40th.
Blinker has held on to a place in the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list, dropping down to 22nd – still a phenomenal achievement for the Spring Gardens boozer.
Blinker has a dedicated martini menu, and also serves them alongside retro Breville toasties.
And finally, last but not least, Speak In Code on Jackson’s Row jumped up into 11th place.
This fantastic brick-lined bar opened properly (it was a pop-up before) just five years ago and it’s consistently topped national lists of the best bars ever since.
There were also amazing results for our sister cities in Sheffield and Leeds, with The Pearl at Parkhill at 44 and Public at 39 for the former, and Tabula Rasa at 27 and Below Stairs at 11 for the latter.
A huge congratulations to all these very worthy winners.
Salford named one of the most expensive UK cities to rent in
Emily Sergeant
One of Greater Manchester’s major cities has been named among the most expensive UK cities to rent a property in.
It was just last week that the Greater Manchester town of Swinton was named a ‘property hotspot’ for 2025 by Rightmove, after house prices there increased by nearly 10% on average last year, and now, the city of Salford itself is also being put under the property spotlight.
That’s because the leading property listing platform has highlighted the city as being one of the most expensive for renters in the whole of the UK.
With 2025 set to be a year of relocation for many, Rightmove has looked at rental costs across more than 50 cities in Great Britain in a bid to find the cheapest – and by contrast, the most expensive – places to rent right now.
Salford has been named one of the most expensive UK cities to rent in / Credit: Benjamin Elliott | Pexels
When it comes to the most expensive UK city to rent in, we doubt it’ll come as a shock to you that the English capital of London takes the top spot.
Some of the other expected cities featuring in the top 10 list, according to Rightmove’s research, include Oxford, Brighton, Cambridge, and the Scottish capital on Edinburgh, but a more surprising entry for Greater Manchester residents is the fact that Salford takes up the eighth spot – with an average monthly rental price of £1,739.
Top 10 most expensive UK cities to rent in
London (£2,695)
St. Albans (£2,330)
Oxford (£2,041)
Winchester (£1,985)
Brighton (£1,880)
Cambridge (£1,870)
Chelmsford (£1,857)
Salford (£1,739)
Milton Keynes (£1,641)
Edinburgh (£1,620)
What's happening in the rental market? 🏡
👉 The average advertised rent of properties coming to market outside of London has fallen for the first time since pre-pandemic 2019, dropping by 0.2% to £1,341 per calendar month.
On the other end of the spectrum, the cheapest UK city to rent a property in is Hull, with the average monthly rental price there being £799, while some of the other North West cities featuring in the top 10 include Preston, Lancaster, and Carlisle.
When taking a look nationally, the average advertised rent per calendar month stands at £1,526, as of January 2025 – which is up 4.3% compared with this time year last year.
But Rightmove says that price changes, as well as average rental prices, vary significantly depending on the location.
Take Salford for example, which is one of the most expensive cities for renting, the monthly cost of renting has jumped by 30.5% in the last year, whereas in Dundee, prices have dropped by 3.7% during the same period.
Emily Sergeant -
31st March 2022 
