12-year-old boy arrested over racist abuse of Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha on social media
West Midlands Police have arrested a 12-year-old boy as they investigate racist tweets sent to Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa.
Zaha shared screenshots from his Instagram account on Twitter this morning after waking up to a series of abuse , including a threatening message accompanied by an image of the American white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan.
The message read: ''You better not score tomorrow your black c*** or I’ll come to your house dressed as a ghost.''
Crystal Palace issued a statement in response to the racial abuse via their official twitter account: ''This is an absolute disgrace and should not be happening. We stand with you, Wilf, and anyone else who has to suffer such horrific abuse.''
And West Midlands Police confirmed that a 12-year-old boy had been taken in custody.
A statement read: "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.
"The 12-year-old from Solihull has been taken to custody. Thanks to everyone who raised it. Racism won't be tolerated. "
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson was asked his thoughts on the racist abuse aimed at Zaha in the lead-up to the match.
"It's very saddening that on the day of a game a player wakes up to this cowardly and despicable abuse," he told Sky Sports.
"But I think it's right that Wilf made people aware of it - I don't think this is something you should keep quiet about - I think it's very good that our club, Aston Villa as well and the Premier League are doing everything they can to find out who this despicable individual is and one can only hope that he will get identified and he will get called to account and that he will pay for these actions ... because there's literally no excuse."
The incident comes as English football continues to embrace the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd last month.
Since the tragic events in America, all Premier League matches have seen players take the knee before kick-off in solidarity and support of the black community.
