A Sunderland AFC supporter has been banned from attending regulated professional and semi‑professional football matches for four years after sending a racist message to a player online.
Connor Butler, of Palermo Street in the Pallion area of Sunderland, was handed the court order after sending an abusive, racially offensive Instagram message to Luton Town striker Elijah Adebayo following the Championship match at Kenilworth Road on October 23, 2024.
Butler was arrested in February 2025 and later pleaded guilty at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on December 10, 2025 to a charge of sending a communication of an indecent or offensive nature. He was fined £200 and ordered to pay court costs. At a return hearing on February 2, 2026, magistrates imposed a four‑year Football Banning Order preventing him from attending any regulated matches in professional or semi‑professional leagues in England and Wales until February 1, 2030; the order also restricts him from travelling abroad to watch international fixtures while it is in force.
Northumbria Police said fast‑track enquiries, carried out with colleagues in Cheshire Constabulary and with the assistance of social‑media providers, identified the Instagram account and linked it to Butler’s address. Chief Superintendent Mark Hall, the force’s football policing lead, said racist and hateful speech has no place in communities or online and commended the victim for coming forward.
Luton Town issued a statement condemning the abuse and reiterated that the club and the authorities will continue to pursue those who target players online. Clubs can also impose their own stadium bans as internal disciplinary measures, but there is no public indication that a separate lifetime ban has been imposed by Sunderland AFC in this case.
Police and clubs urged anyone who sees or receives racist or abusive messages related to football to report them to the relevant force or to club stewards so they can be investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted.
