Fan banned after admitting racial abuse of Darren Bent’s mum

Feb 3 2010 The Journal

A SUNDERLAND football fan has been banned from attending games for three years after he admitted racially abusing the mother of the club’s star striker Darren Bent.

Sunderland supporter John Davison, 26, of Chester-le-Street, shouted a racially-offensive term as Shirley Bent walked past him on the way to watch her son play away at Wigan Athletic.

Mrs Bent turned round to see a group of men laughing and giving each other “high fives” in the stadium car park, Wigan Magistrates’ Court was told.

They returned to a bar where they had been drinking, but she was so upset she decided to confront them and pointed the men out to security officials.

Police brought Davison to her, where she told him she only wanted an apology, and though he said sorry, Mrs Bent changed her mind on not taking further action when she told her son about the incident.

Katie McFarlane, prosecuting, said officers picked out Sunderland season ticket holder Davison who was said to be “profusely apologetic” and explained he had not eaten much before drinking.

“He started telling her that her son was one of his favourite players and he was going to have a tattoo of him on his arm,” the prosecutor said. “Mrs Bent said he was drunk.” Shortly after the game – which Sunderland lost 1-0 – Bent wrote on his Twitter page: “So we get beat by Wigan and to make matters worse my mum gets racially abused by a SUNDERLAND fan. I won’t stand for that.”