12-year-old arrested for sending racist messages to Palace's Zaha

A 12-year-old boy was arrested Sunday after police determined he was behind a series of racist messages sent to Crystal Palace winger Wilfried before a Premier League match against Aston Villa.

Zaha posted screenshots of the messages prior to kickoff - all of them coming from an Instagram account belonging to a Villa fan.

Villa, who won the game 2-0, vowed to issue a lifetime ban to the person responsible for the online abuse.

Palace manager Roy Hodgson applauded Zaha for bringing the messages to light and exposing the individual.

"It is very saddening on the day of a game that a player wakes up to this cowardly and despicable abuse," Hodgson said. "It is right that Wilf made people aware of it; I don't think it is something he should keep quiet about."

It's the third time Zaha has reported racist abuse since October 2018, according to The Guardian's Ed Aarons.

The Premier League said it would use its reporting system to identify the culprit.

"We will continue to support players, managers, coaches, and their family members who receive serious discriminatory online abuse," the league said in a statement.

Last month, the Premier League launched a reporting system that enables and encourages players, coaches, and staff members to flag any form of discrimination online. It could also lead to legal action where appropriate.

Premier League players joined the widespread Black Lives Matter movement when the season resumed in June, taking a knee before every match to protest against racial injustice.