A 12-year-old boy was captured by police after Crystal Palace player Wilfried Zaha featured racist misuse he got in front of Sunday's Premier League match at Aston Villa.
The racist messages and pictures referenced the Ivory Coast worldwide being Black and demonstrated the Ku Klux Klan. They were sent on Instagram from a client who referenced focal England-based club Villa in their name.
"Woke up to this today," Zaha posted on Twitter nearby screen captures.
“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,” West Midlands Police said on Twitter. “The 12-year-old from Solihull has been taken to custody. Thanks to everyone who raised it. Racism won’t be tolerated.”
Before the kickoff at Villa Park, Zaha, like all players as of late, took a knee as part of the Black Lives Matter crusade.
“He is very unhappy and he’s entitled to be," Palace manager Roy Hodgson said after the 2-0 loss. “These cowardly, despicable acts from people ... presumably trying to get some sort of advantage for the team they support, maybe trying to put some doubts into the head of one of the opposition team’s stars players.
