A 12-year-old boy has been arrested by police investigating racist messages sent to Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha on social media.
Zaha revealed he had received several abusive messages on social media before Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa, a game they lost 2-0.
His manager Roy Hodgson called the abuse “cowardly and despicable”.
The Premier League called the abuse of the 27-year-old Ivory Coast winger “completely unacceptable”.
West Midlands Police tweeted Zaha to say they would look into the abuse and hours later confirmed an arrest.
“We were alerted to a series of racist messages sent to a footballer today and after looking into them and conducting checks, we have arrested a boy,” read a WM Police tweet.
“The 12-year-old from Solihull has been taken to custody. Thanks to everyone who raised it. Racism won’t be tolerated.”
