A TRAFFORD man has been arrested on suspicion of 'racist abuse' towards England football players after the final of Euro 2020.

The 37-year-old from Ashton on Mersey handed himself in at Cheadle Heath police station on Wednesday morning.

He was arrested on suspicion of an offence under the Malicious Communications Act, which was committed in a social media post.

The man has now been released under investigation.

A number of players were subjected to racist abuse after England's loss to Italy, in particular Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who all missed penalties in the decisive shootout.

In a separate offence, a mural of Marcus Rashford was defaced in Withington, but it has since been repaired and covered in messages of solidarity.

Messenger Newspapers: The mural of Marcus Rashford in Withington was defaced, but it has been repaired (Image: PA).The mural of Marcus Rashford in Withington was defaced, but it has been repaired (Image: PA).

Detective Inspector Matt Gregory of GMP Trafford said: "The actions of a small number of people overshadowed what was a hugely unifying event for our country on Sunday evening.

"We're firm in our commitment, any racist abuse whether online or off isn't acceptable."

An investigation is ongoing and the police are appealing to the public for information.

Anyone with information about the social media post is asked to contact police on 0161 856 4973 and quote incident 109, or to use the online chat function on gmp.police.uk.

People can also contact CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Anyone who has been a victim or witness of racist abuse or another hate crime is asked to report it as early as possible using 101, the online chat function or letsendhatecrime.com.