Punter banned indefinitely from racing after subjecting jockeys and trainers to relentless online abuse
A PUNTER has been banned indefinitely from racing after subjecting jockeys and trainers to a relentless barrage of online abuse.
Michael Wheble, whose Twitter account of the same name was used to harass jockeys, has been blocked from all British racecourses.
AFPPaul Nicholls was one of the trainers targeted[/caption]
The British Horseracing Authority issued the ban – the second of its type – after they punished Adam Fowles last year.
Racing’s governing body said Wheble’s tweets, which took aim at everyone from Paul Nicholls to Hollie Doyle and even Carol Vorderman, breached their code of conduct for social media use.
A BHA spokesperson said: “The BHA is committed to protecting the integrity of horseracing and considers the health and welfare of the sport’s participants a priority.
“The BHA code of conduct, which forms part of the rules of racing, establishes a set of standards aimed at protecting the values of the sport of horseracing and making racing a great place to work based on a culture of respect.
“Everyone involved in the sport of horseracing is expected to uphold these values and standards.
“The code makes clear that anyone who fails to uphold these values and standards, whether in person or online, could face disciplinary action.
“In this case, Mr Wheble was found to have breached the Code due to unacceptable use of social media and was excluded from the sport.
“For individuals unfortunately affected by behaviour on social media that is contrary to the standards set out in the code, the BHA can be contacted via intel@britishhorseracing.com, or via the sport’s anonymous online reporting service, RaceWISE.
“If a case has been reported to police, we will work with them and the relevant industry body to support any action the police decide to take.”
The last post from Wheble’s account was on April 11 this year.
Prior to that a slew of messages were published almost every day, accusing trainers of ‘diabolical runs’ and jockeys of being ‘absolutely useless’.
