Officers investigating racist and abusive messages sent to England defender Jess Carter say they have arrested a man.
Carter, 27, spoke out about receiving racist abuse online while playing in the UEFA Women’s Euros – which England went on to win – last month.
Police say a 59-year-old man from Great Harwood, Lancashire, has been arrested on suspicion of malicious communications in relation to some of the messages.
He has since been released under investigation while enquiries continue.
Cheshire Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chief Council (NPCC) lead for football policing, said: “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.
“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.”
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In an Instagram post shared two days before the Lionesses took on Italy in the semi-final, Carter said she was stepping back from social media to “protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can”.
“From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” she wrote. “Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.
“Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it.”
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The Football Association condemned the “abhorrent abuse” and said at the time that it had contacted UK police about it.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement: “Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs. We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.”
