A PENSIONER charged with making a racist monkey gesture towards three Blackburn Rovers footballers has been found guilty.

Comment: Kicking out the racists

The three black footballers told a court that they were targeted following a controversial draw against Middlesbrough at The Riverside Stadium last season.

Earlier Rudy Gestede, Marcus Olsson and club captain Lee Williamson all told Teesside Magistrates Court that they saw pensioner Ernest Goult making monkey gestures following the final whistle at last November's match.

The 72-year-old claimed he was patting an armpit - captured on CCTV - and this was a "well known Teesside gesture" meaning the Rovers' players and the result were 'the pits'.

The Northern Echo:

Blackburn Rovers footballers Markus Olsson, Rudy Gestede and Lee Williamson arrive at Teesside Magistrates' Court

The Northern Echo:

COMPLAINT: Blackburn's Rudy Gestede, who gave evidence today, complains about racist abuse from fans after the match

Goult of High Stone Close, Redcar, denied two charges – one of causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and one of using threatening, abusive words, behaviour likely to cause harassment.

He was handed a three-year football banning order, fined £600 and ordered to pay £600 costs with a £60 victim surcharge.

Club captain Williamson said he saw the defendant making gestures as his team walked towards the away fans to applaud them at the end of the game.

He said: “I felt upset because in my job you do come up against a little bit of banter and a little bit of abuse, that comes with the profession, but at the time I thought – why, what’s the point and what is that going to achieve?”

When asked by Goult's solicitor Amy Dixon whether he was certain they were monkey gestures rather than gestures implying the players were the pits, he simply replied 'yes'.

Gestede, who scored the injury-time equaliser, told the court he was angered at seeing the Middlesbrough fan making several hand gestures.

“I got angry and started to walk towards him but one of our players pulled my away and told me to stay calm.”

When asked how felt the about the defendant’s actions, he said: “This behaviour doesn’t need to be in the stadium or anywhere else.”

Olsson told District Judge Stephen Harmes he was convinced the gestures were racially motivated.
He said: “I’m 100 per cent convinced they were monkey gestures and they were racial.”

PC Timothy Swales, who has worked in football intelligence for more than a decade and covered more than 700 Middlesbrough games home and away, said he had never heard or seen a gesture that meant 'the pits'.

After viewing the footage for the first time today (Wednesday, July 29), he said: “My perception is that it was a monkey gesture.”

Goult denied making any racist gesture and categorically denied being racist.

The defendant accepted he made the gestures but denied they were racist.

He said: "Myself and Rudy Gestede made eye contact - I went one, two, one, two (as he demonstrated to the court patting his armpit).

"It's a well known Teesside gesture. It wasn't to anyone in particular, it was about the whole scenario."

When asked if he was being abusive, he said: "No, not at all. The fact the three chaps were black didn't register - the whole lot (Blackburn team) could have come over."

His solicitor Ms Dixon asked him directly if he was racist. He said: "Not in the slightest, I could have received a caution and it could have gone on my record.

"That was the point of today. I didn't want it to be that, I wanted to prove my innocence."

Goult called several character witnesses, including retired teacher Victor Wood, who has written about local dialects, to tell the court that patting the armpit to express dissatisfaction or disgust with something was a common Teesside trait.

After considering his verdict for 45 minutes, Judge Harmes found the defendant guilty saying the footballers evidence had been clear and consistent while he dismissed the evidence of the gesture being in common use around the area.

"Let me get this clear from the start, this trial is not about whether Ernest Goult is racist, it's about whether he indulged in racist behaviour," he said. "What he was was upset and angry and he expressed his dissatisfaction in an unacceptable way.

"It is simple intolerable that anybody acts like this even if they are 72-years-old, even if they have never been in trouble before, or even if in their heart they are not racist, football wants to stamp this out and I have to send out a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated, so a football banning order must follow."

Speaking after the hearing Goult said he was pleased it was over.

A club spokesman said: "Middlesbrough Football Club has never hesitated to take strong and decisive action with supporters who have been identified as participating in racist incidents, and will continue to do so.

"We adopt a zero tolerance policy towards racism and proactively encourage supporters to report incidents of unreasonable and offensive behaviour within the Riverside Stadium.

"We have worked closely with Cleveland Police and Blackburn Rovers on this case to provide as much supporting evidence as possible and will continue to do everything in our power to help bring offenders to justice.

"We will now seek to arrange a meeting with Mr Goult to review the case before deciding on further action."