Greater Manchester Police have arrested a 37-year-old Savills estate agent, Andrew Bone, after he allegedly posted a racist tweet about black England football stars following the Euro 2020 final. Bone voluntarily attended Cheadle Heath police station and was arrested on suspicion of an offence under the Malicious Communications Act.
The tweet, which appeared on Bone's account shortly after England's defeat to Italy, read: 'N*****s ruined it for us.' Bone claimed his account was hacked and called for police to investigate. Savills confirmed he has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
Police officers searched Bone's home in Manchester, seizing a laptop. He has been released under investigation. Detective Inspector Matt Gregory stated: 'The actions of a small number of people overshadowed what was a hugely unifying event for our country.'
Separately, children's football coach Nick Scott, 50, was arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after allegedly tweeting Marcus Rashford to 'get to ya own country'. Scott also claimed his account was hacked.
Twitter said it deleted over 1,000 abusive posts, while research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate found Instagram removed only six of 106 reported accounts.
