00:00 PC 21522 Ward, I'm based on the West Midlands Police Force for the Force Football Unit based
00:07 at Halzone Police Station. The incident relates back to May 2021, it was Wolverhampton Wondras
00:14 v Manchester United, it was a Premier League fixture played at the Molineux which is home
00:19 of Wolverhampton Wondras FC. The game started with a lot of optimism, people were back inside
00:28 the ground after Covid, limited numbers, social distancing and there was a good feel about
00:34 the game. The Wolves manager was present for his last game for the football club but unfortunately
00:44 the game changed very quickly and one individual, Jamie Arnold, started to hold racist abuse
00:51 and gestures towards Riyad Ferdinand who was working for BT Sports which is now TNT Sports
01:00 in the gantry. This was witnessed by numerous supporters that were in the ground, stewards
01:08 and close protection officers who reported it to the football club and the police. That
01:13 allowed Jamie Arnold to be identified quickly and he was arrested and taken into police
01:19 custody. How did Riyad Ferdinand's willingness to give evidence help the case? Again, really
01:28 important that he was willing to give a statement to the police along with all the other witnesses
01:34 that had seen and heard what Jamie Arnold had done. We thank every one of those witnesses
01:42 including Riyad Ferdinand because without those statements and those individuals providing
01:48 evidence it makes it even harder to get a successful outcome at court.
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