Mohamed Salah: Man charged with posting racist tweet about Liverpool star

Gary Hyland, 32, from Waterloo, accused of racially aggravated public order offence

A man has been charged with posting a racist tweet about Liverpool footballer Mohamed Salah.

Gary Hyland, 32, was arrested on Thursday after Merseyside Police launched a hate crime investigation.

He has been charged a racially aggravated public order offence and obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty.

Hyland, of Church Road, Waterloo, is expected to appear at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Friday.

The offensive tweet, which featured a mocked-up imaged of the Egyptian player, was posted on Wednesday.

It was shared by several other people before being removed from Twitter.

Everton, Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals, said they were investigating whether the person responsible had links to the club’s fanbase.

“Everton condemns in the strongest terms any kind of racism,” a club statement read.

“We have shared the material with the appropriate authorities and are looking into the matter further to understand if the twitter user in question is known to the club in any way.”

Salah is expected to play in the opening Premier League game of the season between Liverpool and Norwich City on Friday night.