A 15-year-old boy was arrested by Greater Manchester Police on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense for a racially charged tweet to Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand. The boy has seen been bailed pending further inquiries.
An investigation has been launched after Ferdinand was the center of a nasty incident that involved a Manchester City fan throwing a coin at the defender during the final minutes of the Manchester Derby over the past weekend.
Ferdinand was struck over his left eye with a coin that left him with a gash that had to be attended to by medics, but that wasn’t the end of it. A City fan by the name of Matthew Stott then charged the pitch after Ferdinand was hit by the coin, but City goalkeeper Joe Hart stopped Stott before he got to Ferdinand. Manchester Police arrested Stott and eight other fans at the match.
Ferdinand later sent out this tweet about the incident:
Respect to Joe Hart for protecting that idiot who ran on!! Love the banter between fans but there is a point when it goes too far…calm it!
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) December 9, 2012
