Harry Brown, 25, targeted Fulham’s Brazilian Rodrigo Muniz, 24, twice after the striker scored goals in matches against Liverpool. Brown, of Barrow, Cumbria, was a handed a three-year football ban and ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work
A racist Liverpool fan has been banned from football after abusing a Premier League star who scored against his team. Harry Brown, 25, targeted Fulham’s Brazilian Rodrigo Muniz, 24, twice after the striker scored goals in home and away matches. He was sentenced for two malicious communications offences yesterday/today (Thurs). Brown, of Barrow, Cumbria, was also handed a three-year football banning order and ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work within the next year.
Magistrates in north Cumbria heard that he sent direct messages to Mr Muniz on social media in December, 2024 which stated “f****** slave” and “hope your family gets hurt”.
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The striker was targeted after he scored for Fulham in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool in a Premier League game on Merseyside. Last April, Brown sent more abuse after Muniz scored in the return fixture between Fulham and Liverpool.
Brown sent a direct message stating ‘hope your family dies’ followed by a monkey emoji and another message which stated ‘slave’. Muniz screenshotted the offensive content after the second message of abuse, reported it to his club and police were alerted.
“The defendant was then arrested at his place of work, which was Barrow Magistrates’ Court,” prosecutor Diane Jackson told the court. At the time, Brown worked for firm GEOAmey in the Barrow court cells.
Mr Muniz said in a statement: “I was disgusted and offended by these comments and it is my opinion that the monkey emoji and using the term ‘slave’ was sent as a racial insult due to my heritage.
“Also wishing for my family to be hurt or die is grossly offensive. Solicitor Trystan Roberts, mitigating, said Brown was “utterly and thoroughly ashamed of himself”.
“He has made a very, very foolish error, on two occasions, when his temper, his anger and emotions got the better of him.
“He has hit out in a way which, in hindsight, was disgusting.” In a statement, Fulham said: “Today’s sentencing sends a clear and strong message that abuse in any form will not be tolerated.
“This also serves as a reminder that online abusers could face serious consequences and that there is no protection of hiding place for people posting hateful comments.”
Brown admitted the offences at a hearing last month.
Speaking after the case, Chief Inspector Kim Brown, of Cumbria Police, said: “We stand against racism and condemn the vile abuse which Harry Brown sent to Mr Muniz.
“Hate crime, in person or online, is never acceptable and you cannot hide behind a social media profile to post these despicable comments. With the support of Mr Muniz, we have pursued this case to hold Brown accountable for his actions.
“There is simply no place for this in society. We will continue to bring offenders to justice.” She praised the star for his “strength to stand up and speak out”.
She added: “I also want to thank the Premier League, the UK Football Policing Unit and our dedicated football officers for their determination in this investigation. They worked together to gather the evidence, identify the social media account and the person behind it, before locating and arresting him.
“I want to reassure any person out there who is subject to this level of racist abuse. We will listen and we will seek to take action.”
The anti-racism charity ‘Kick It Out’ received 1,398 reports of discrimination in the 2024/25 season, the highest figure ever recorded by the charity. It represented more than double the number of reports received just four seasons ago.
