A RACIST football fan has been spared jail after posting sickening abuse of England’s black player on social media following the team’s defeat in the Euro 2020 final.

Scott McCluskey, from Runcorn, shared the vile status on Facebook after Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed spot kicks when the match with Italy went to a penalty shootout.

Warrington Magistrates Court heard this afternoon, Wednesday, that the 43-year-old posted: “Well it took three ethnic players to f*** it up.

“Unlucky England.

“Sack them three monkeys.”

Facebook friends were left outraged by his comments, with one who had previously suffered racial abuse reporting the matter to the police.

McCluskey, of Blyth Close, attempted to defend his actions by saying he had posted the status ‘in efforts to make people laugh’ and ‘said it was a joke’ before deleting the message.

He appeared to be crying in the dock with his head bowed after admitting one count of sending an offensive message and was handed a 14-week imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

District judge Nicholas Sanders said: “The reality is these posts were sadly widespread and attracted national condemnation, rightly.

“They were grossly offensive.

“It’s something which is revolting – nobody should abuse anybody for the colour of their skin.

“To do so against three young men, clearly doing their very best for their country, is frankly sickening."

McCluskey, who has no previous convictions, was the first person in the UK to be convicted in relation to online abuse posted after the final.

Chief inspector Leeroy Moss said following the sentencing: “Everyone is responsible for what they do and say, and posting a message on social media is no different.

“McCluskey’s comments were clearly racist and included a number of emojis which were directed towards specific England players.

“Thankfully the message was reported to us within hours of being posted and a full investigation took place.

“Hate crimes and online abuse are heinous crimes, which can have a significant impact on the people targeted and also our wider communities.

“As this case demonstrates, we treat this sort of offending extremely seriously and will do everything we can to ensure that those responsible are held accountable for their actions.”

Cheshire Police chief constable Mark Roberts, who is also the National Police Chiefs’ Council for football policing, added: “McCluskey is the first person in the UK to be convicted in relation to the racist abuse posted after the Euro 2020 final and I hope that his conviction acts as warning to others.

“I’m pleased to see Cheshire leading the way in this regard, and I know there are many others in the pipeline.

“The racial abuse aimed at our players following that game was totally abhorrent, and quite rightly it shocked and appalled people across the country.

“Those in the England team were true role models throughout the tournament – conducting themselves with professionalism and dignity, and they did not deserve such vile abuse.

“I want to make it clear to anyone using social media that you will be held accountable for what you post.

“You cannot simply hide behind a computer screen, or use pseudo names to conceal your identity.

“This prosecution is not the end – the UK Football Policing Unit will continue to work closely with social media platforms to trace those responsible for the utterly vile messages and ensure that they will all be held responsible.”

McCluskey was also handed a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a 40-week curfew, as well as being told to pay £100 in compensation, court costs of £85 and a £128 victim surcharge.

Senior district crown prosecutor Jo Lazzari, of the Crown Prosecution Service Mersey Cheshire, said: “While millions of us watched the England team with pride as they reached the final of the Euro 2020 tournament, Scott McCluskey took to his Facebook account and posted vile racist comments about the players who had missed penalties.

“We would sincerely like to thank the individual who brought this appalling hate crime to our attention and gave us the opportunity to work with Cheshire Police to bring this offence to court.

“The CPS submitted to the court that this was the most serious category of this type of offending.

“This offending is described as hate crime, and the CPS treats these offences with the utmost gravity because they attack the very essence of the victim and affect the whole community.

“As shown by the public response to this defendant’s actions, racism has no place in our society and will not be tolerated in any form.”

Deputy chief crown prosecutor Elizabeth Jenkins, the CPS’ national lead on football, added: “There is no room in the game, nor elsewhere, for racism.

“Where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest, we will prosecute such cases and seek an increased sentenced on conviction.

“Hate crimes such as these have a massive impact on players and their mental health.

“The CPS takes this kind of offending very seriously, and this case shows that where offensive content is reported to the police we can successfully bring offenders to justice.”