Boy, 12, released under investigation amid footballer racism probe

A 12-year-old boy arrested in connection with a series of racist messages sent to a Premier League footballer has been released under investigation.

West Midlands Police said they were looking into messages sent to Crystal Palace player Wilfried Zaha’s Instagram account on Sunday.

The Ivory Coast international posted screenshots of the messages he received on his Twitter account with the caption: “Woke up to this today.”

The 27-year-old was sent racist imagery as well as abusive messages.

“You better not score tomorrow you black c***,” one read.

That was followed by a second message reading: “Or I’ll come to your house dressed as a ghost.”

The force arrested a 12-year-old boy from Solihull after examining the messages, but he has since been released under investigation.

In a statement, the force said: “The 12-year-old boy arrested in connection with racist social media messages sent to a footballer has been released under investigation while our inquiries continue.

“Racism has no place in society and we’re attempting to contact the footballer to obtain a statement.”

Palace manager Roy Hodgson earlier praised the player for going public having been the target of “cowardly and despicable” racist abuse.

After Zaha posted the messages on social media, anti-discrimination campaigners Kick It Out tweeted: “We are extremely disappointed that Wilf Zaha has once again been the subject of targeted racial abuse.

“Those who continue to select professional sportspeople in this way, need to be brought to justice and face the strongest consequences #KickItOut.”

In Saturday’s match, Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Villa Park.