Wilfried Zaha calls for 'action, education and change' after receiving racist abuse
Wilfried Zaha has called for action and education on racism after a 12-year-old boy was arrested in Birmingham following vile messages were sent to the Crystal Palace forward.
Ahead of Palace's defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday, Zaha revealed the racist abuse sent to him via Instagram - with West Midlands Police moving quickly, announcing hours later that a child from Solihull had been arrested following a number of reports.
Palace, the Premier League and Aston Villa all moved quickly to condemn the abuse and Zaha has now taken to social media, thanking people for their support but demanding more be done to prevent future incidents.
"I wanted to come on here to thank you all for your messages of support," Zaha wrote on Twitter.
"I would also like to thank West Midlands Police for their swift action in making an arrest. People need to understand that whatever your age, your behaviour and your words come with consequences and you cannot hide behind social media.
— Wilfried Zaha (@wilfriedzaha)
"It is important social media platforms do as they did yesterday and seek out these individuals and remove them.
"This is not the first time I have received messages like this, nor am I the only player to receive messages like this, it happens every day.
"I want to thank everyone for the love and support but enough is enough! It is not enough to be disgusted by these messages I received and move on. It isn't enough just to say #notoracism.
"We need action, we need education, things need to change."
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