Barrow man sentenced for racially abusing premier league footballer

Cumbria Police have condemned the actions of a Barrow man after he was sentenced for racial abuse he sent to a premier league footballer.

Harry Brown, aged 25, of Maple Street, targeted Fulham player Rodrigo Muniz twice after the striker had scored goals in home and away matches against Liverpool.

Brown was sentenced today (22 January) at North Cumbria Magistrates’ Court for two malicious communications offences. Brown was handed a three-year football banning order and ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work within the next year.

On 14 December 2024, Brown sent direct messages to Mr Muniz on social media which stated ‘f****** slave’ and ‘hope your family gets hurt’. The messages were sent after Muniz scored for Fulham against Liverpool in a Premier League match on Merseyside.

On 6 April 2025, Brown sent more abuse in a direct message after Mr Muniz played and scored in the return fixture between Fulham and Liverpool. On this occasion, Brown sent a message stating ‘hope your family dies’ followed by a monkey emoji and another message which stated ‘slave’.

Harry Brown admitted the offences at a hearing last month.

Chief Inspector Kim Brown, Cumbria Constabulary, 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, and we will continue to bring offenders to justice.

“I want to commend Mr Muniz for his strength to stand up and speak out. I also want to thank the Premier League, the UK Football Policing Unit and Cumbria Police’s dedicated football officers for their determination to 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, that we will listen and we will seek to take action.”