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The Greater Manchester Police have made an arrest after allegations of racial abuse marred the Manchester Derby on Saturday night.
A 41-year-old man was arrested after cameras picked up a fan making gestures at Manchester United players Fred and Jesse Lingard during a charged game versus Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. The police said they received multiple reports of a fan making racist noises and gestures, and were working with both teams to identify the man.
In a statement, the force said, "At around 6.55 pm on Saturday 7 December 2019 police were called to a report of a supporter making alleged racist gestures and sounds towards players during the Manchester City and Manchester United derby."
"A 41-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and remains in custody for questioning."
Superintendent Chris Hill of the City of Manchester Division also said that he would like to thank the public for their support with the incident and added, " Racism of any kind has no place in football or our society and I hope this arrest shows that we are taking this matter extremely seriously."
"We will continue to work with Manchester City and Manchester United football clubs on this incident and will investigate any other lines of enquiries."
During the course of the incident, Fred was also seen to be in pain after being hit by a projectile, as he went to take a corner.
The incident, however, had no bearing on Manchester United routing local rivals City 2-1 on the night, climbing up to the fifth spot on the Premier League table.
The Football Association, meanwhile, confirmed that they too will be investigating the incident. Several United players reportedly approached referee Anthony Taylor and Manchester City over being targeted during the game.
Manchester City, on their part, immediately issued a statement after the game, assuring that they will be taking measures to help identify and eventually ban the person involved in the racism incident.
