Police arrest 12-year-old boy after racist messages sent to Premier League footballer Wilfried Zaha

Police investigating racist messages sent to Premier League footballer Wilfried Zaha have arrested a 12-year-old boy.

West Midlands Police launched an investigation after the Crystal Palace player posted screenshots of messages he had received on his Instagram account.

Zaha shared the messages, which included racist pictures as well as racist abuse, on his Twitter account with the words: “Woke up to this today”.

In a tweet on Sunday afternoon, West Midlands Police confirmed they had arrested a 12-year-old boy after looking into the messages.

They wrote: “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.

“The 12-year-old from Solihull has been taken to custody.

“Thanks to everyone who raised it. Racism won’t be tolerated.”

Read more: Racism's rise in football demands harsher sanctions and better mental health support

After Zaha, who also plays for the Ivory Coast national team, shared the messages, 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.”

The 27-year-old was also backed by former striker Ian Wright, who wrote: “People like to make these experiences seem like it's not the norm for black people. It's always an outlier. "Not one of us". "Not a real (insert club) fan".

“These are real people & daily experiences!! Sooner we accept it the better we can deal with it!!! We stand with you Wilf”.

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson had earlier praised Zaha for going public about the “cowardly and despicable” racist abuse he has received.