Police have arrested a man accused of racially abusing former England footballer Ashley Cole during an FA Cup third-round tie earlier this month.
A 24-year-old is in custody on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, Wiltshire Police said on Saturday. He was arrested this morning and taken to Gablecross Police Station.
The incident is understood to have occurred in the corner of the pitch at Swindon’s County Ground stadium, where the ITV punditry team was based.
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The former left-back for Arsenal and Chelsea was pitchside as the time of the incident.
Superintendent Phil Staynings, Swindon commander, said: “Racial abuse of any kind will never be tolerated by Wiltshire Police.
“We have worked closely with the football club, who share our strong stance on this, and would like to thank them for their support in our ongoing investigation.
“We continue to encourage people to report these types of incidents and I’m pleased that my officers have been relentless in securing this positive arrest.
“We will continue to work with the club to stamp out hate crime of any kind that spoils matches for the majority of supporters.”
Speaking after the game, Swindon owner Clem Morfuni apologised to Mr Cole and said: “We cannot stress strongly enough that racial abuse of any kind will not be tolerated.
“Racism has no place in the world, and it is incredibly heartbreaking that this still has a place in our game.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://bit.ly/3g5wp5R
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