Fan Cleared of Charges against Ashley Cole

Ashley Cole, a former England left-back player, is now an ITV pundit. He was recently in a controversy when a fan waved a wallet at him, referring to his move from Arsenal to club Chelsea. This was seen as racial abuse and harassment for which the fan was charged as well. Lee Oscroft, 25 years of age, reportedly used the “n” word on Cole for which he faced harassment charges. This happened during the match between Manchester City and Swindon Town as part of the FA cup tournament.

Due to the charges, there was a hearing at Swindon Magistrates’ court where Oscroft was asked to appear. He came in formal attire and denied the charges of having used the “n” word on Cole. He stated that it was not part of his vocabulary at all. The match had been held on January 2022 when the incident occurred.

At that time Mr. Cole had been part of the broadcasting team of ITV. Oscroft faced charges before this for using abusive words, and behavior. After a year, when the case was presented in court, he admitted that he had joined other supporters and shouted at Mr. Cole. The latter was giving his expert opinions after the match. However, Oscroft stated that he had not used any racist words.
The fan had waved his wallet containing a membership card of Arsenal and called Ashley Cashley Cole. He admitted to the court that it was banter but it was not racially motivated. He had even re-tweeted a post from the town community after that incident. In that, he had condemned that Mr. Cole had been abused and that he found the racist slurs to be inexcusable. He also admitted that he stated his opinion about Ashley Cole having left Arsenal to play for their rival, the Chelsea club, during his playing days.