British police say they have arrested a man in connection with a racist tweet aimed at Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.
In a statement published on its website, Merseyside Police said it had arrested a 32-year-old from Waterloo shortly before 9.30 a.m. (4.30 a.m. ET) Thursday “on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, and obstructing an officer in the execution of their duty.”
The tweet, which included a mocked-up image of the player, was published on Wednesday afternoon and shared by other users online.
In an earlier statement, police said they were treating the matter as a hate crime.
“Merseyside Police is aware of an offensive Tweet posted in relation to a Liverpool footballer, which was shared by others, and will be investigating the matter,” read the statement.
“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.”
This is not the first time Salah has been targeted with racial abuse on social media.
In April, British police launched an investigation after a video posted to social media allegedly showed a group of Chelsea fans racially abusing the Egyptian player. The forward was also singled out for racist abuse at West Ham during an English Premier League match in February.
Salah and his Liverpool teammates kick off their Premier League title challenge against Norwich at Anfield on Friday.