Police arrest man over racist tweet attacking Liverpool's Mo Salah

Police have detained a man on suspicion of posting a racist tweet about Liverpool football player Mohammed Salah.

Merseyside police said a 32-year-old was arrested on Thursday morning after an investigation into offensive tweet about the Egyptian football star.

The man, thought to be a fan of Everton, Liverpool FC’s rivals, is being questioned on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and obstructing an officer in the execution of their duty, according to the Press Association.

The post, which included a mocked-up image of the footballer, was published on Wednesday afternoon before it was shared by others on social media, Merseyside Police confirmed.

A force spokesman said: “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 FC also condemned the tweet, saying it condemns all racism “in the strongest terms”.

“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,” it said in a statement.

His football success proving extremely popular among fans, 27-year-old Salah has been credited with bringing down levels of hate crimes and Islamophobia in the Liverpool area since joining the club, according to a new study.

However overall, the UK has experienced a worrying rise in Islamophobia, with 31% of the British population believing that Islam poses a treat to the British way of life, according to a 2019 poll by anti-racist group Hope not Hate.

Chelsea Football Club vowed to ban three of its supporters after a video emerged of them singing Islamophobic chants attacking Salah.

The video of the chanters calling the Liverpool star a “bomber” made rounds on social media in April, sparking anger at the attack on the player was because of his Muslim faith.