LONDON: Wolves have apologised to Rio Ferdinand after a supporter was arrested having made a racist gesture towards the former Manchester United and England defender at Molineux.
Ferdinand was at the stadium working as a pundit as Wolves were beaten 2-1 by United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.The match saw the return of fans to the ground, with a crowd of 4,500 Wolves supporters in attendance.
During the game, Ferdinand posted a message on Twitter which said: “The last couple weeks, it’s been unreal to see fans back. However to the Wolves fan who has just been thrown out for doing a monkey chant at me. You need to be dismissed from football and educated. Come meet me and I will help you understand what it feels like to be racially abused!”
A subsequent tweet from Wolves said: “We are deeply sorry Rio. This person does not represent our club, our supporters or our values. We can confirm that this individual has been arrested by WMPolice, who we will support to ensure that the strongest action is taken, including a lifetime ban from our club.”
West Midlands Police said in a tweet: “A 31-year-old man has been arrested at the Wolves v ManUtd match this afternoon after a racist gesture was directed at rioferdy5. We will not tolerate football hate crime.” Elsewhere, audible boos were heard at Villa Park when Aston Villa and Chelsea players took the knee before kick-off.