A man has been arrested in Lancashire after racist and abusive messages were sent online to the England defender Jess Carter during the women’s Euros in July.
The UK football policing unit launched an investigation after receiving a report that the messages had been sent on social media. Officers worked in partnership with social media companies to identify the people responsible.
On Thursday, police arrested a 59-year-old man from Great Harwood on suspicion of malicious communications in relation to some of the messages. He has been released on bail while the investigation continues.
Police said the messages Carter had been sent were “appalling” and they expected the arrest to be “the first of many”.
“The messages directed towards Jess Carter were appalling and I would like to commend her for standing up to this abuse and assisting with our investigation,” said Mark Roberts, the chief constable of Cheshire constabulary and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for football policing.
“Nobody should be subjected to such disgusting abuse, and I expect that today’s arrest will be the first of many over the coming months. We want to make it clear that racist abuse of this nature will not be tolerated. Everyone is responsible for what they do and say, and we want to ensure offenders cannot hide behind a social media profile to post vile comments.”
PC Dan Fish of Lancashire police said: “Lancashire police does not tolerate hate of any form, either in person or online. I hope this arrest sends out a clear message that Lancashire police will leave no stone unturned in identifying those who engage in such unacceptable behaviour – no matter how long it takes.”
Carter spoke out last month about racist messages she had received while playing in the Euros, which England went on to win.