Jury discharged in the trial of a Staffordshire man accused of racially abusing Rio Ferdinand

The jury in the trial of a man from Staffordshire accused of racially abusing former England defender Rio Ferdinand, has been discharged by a judge for legal reasons.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' football fan Jamie Arnold, 32, of Norton Bridge, near Stone, had been accused of causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress to Mr Ferdinand by using "threatening, abusive or insulting" words or behaviour towards him at the Wolverhampton Wanderers match against Manchester United at Molineux on May 23 last year.

During the prosecution's opening at Wolverhampton Crown Court, footage was played to jurors, allegedly showing him making a racist gesture, al though Arnold had denied any wrong-doing.

Mr Ferdinand, working at the game as a television pundit for BT Sport, gave evidence from the witness box on Monday, saying although he noted the man's "more aggressive body language", he did not see a monkey gesture or hear any abuse.

Judge Simon Ward discharged the jury on Tuesday, part-way through the second day of the trial.

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