A man has been arrested in connection with a racist tweet directed against Liverpool footballer Mohamed Salah.
Merseyside Police said in a statement that a 32-year-old from Waterloo, Liverpool had been arrested shortly before 9.30am today “on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, and obstructing an officer in the execution of their duty.”
The individual has been taken to a police station for questioning.
The tweet, which featured a mocked-up image of the player, was posted on Wednesday afternoon and shared by others. It has since been removed from Twitter.
In an earlier statement, police said they were treating the matter as a hate crime.
“Merseyside Police is aware of an offensive Tweet posted in relation to a Liverpool footballer, which was shared by others, and will be investigating the matter,” read the statement.
“Hate crime in any guise will not be tolerated and those who use the Internet to target others, and who commit a criminal offence such as hate crime in doing so, need to understand that they are not beyond the law.”
Everton, Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals, also confirmed that they are investigating whether the person responsible has links to the club’s supporter fanbase.
“Everton condemns in the strongest terms any kind of racism,” a club statement read.
“We have shared the material with the appropriate authorities and are looking into the matter further to understand if the twitter user in question is known to the club in any way.”
Salah featured in Liverpool’s penalty-shootout defeat in last weekend’s Community Shield against Manchester City, and is expected to play a part in the opening Premier League game of the season between Liverpool and Norwich City on Friday night.
