Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha: We need action and education to prevent cases of racist abuse
Wifried Zaha has posted a message on Twitter after being the victim of racist abuse yesterday.
A 12-year-old boy has been arrested by West Midlands Police investigating messages sent to the Crystal Palace star.
Zaha posted screenshots of the abuse he received before yesterday’s 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
Zaha wrote: “Very disappointed we didn’t get a better result yesterday but I wanted to come on here to thank you for all your messages of support.
“I would also like to thank West Midlands Police for their swift action in making an arrest.
“People need to understand that whatever your age, that your behaviour and your words come with consequences and you can’t hide behind social media.
“It is important social media platforms do as they did yesterday and seek out these individuals and remove them.
#ARRESTED| 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. pic.twitter.com/oFxBUvdtV1
— West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) July 12, 2020
“This is not the first time I have received messages like this, nor am I the only player to receive messages like this – it happens every day.
“I want to thank everyone for the love and support but enough is enough! It is not enough to be disgusted by these messages I received and move on.
“It isn’t enough to just say #no to racism. We need action, we need education, things need to change.”
Palace manager Roy Hodgson addressed the issue in his post-match interview at Villa Park.
The Eagles boss said: “He’s very unhappy and he’s entitled to be very unhappy.
“These cowardly, despicable acts from people, presumably, trying to get an advantage for the team they support, maybe trying to put some angst, if you like, in the head of one of the opposition teams’ star players. It’s very sad that people resort to this type of abuse, these despicable, vile, comments.
— Wilfried Zaha (@wilfriedzaha) July 13, 2020
“At the end of it we expect a player, who’s been hurt by these type of comments, just to shrug his shoulders and take it as all being part and parcel of the game. It isn’t. It’s got nothing to do with the game.
“I can only hope that catch the person. For me, the punishment cannot be severe enough. It comes in the moment where we are talking about black people and their lives mattering and how discrimination has worked against them for so long and yet we wake up today to this type of vile abuse.”
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