Boy, 14, referred to youth offending services for racially abusing Sheffield United striker Rhian Brewster

Brewster, the England U21 international, highlighted the racist message he received on Instagram in March and South Yorkshire Police launched an investigation. That identified individuals outside of their scope, and the cases were referred to police forces in Staffordshire and West Yorkshire.

The Staffordshire force spoke to a 14-year-old boy, who accepted responsibility for the abuse.

"In June 2021, colleagues from South Yorkshire Police contacted us regarding a report of online racist abuse of a footballer,” a police spokesperson said.

“Following enquiries, a 14-year-old boy was located and spoken to by officers.

“He has accepted responsibility and in line with the victim's wishes, has been referred to Youth Offending Services.”

Brewster, who joined United from Liverpool in a club-record deal and previously reported racial abuse on the field during his time at Anfield, shared a screenshot on his own Instagram story of the message, which contained the N-word.

"Overrated n*****," it read. "You're s***, poo boy."

Brewster’s Bramall Lane teammate suffered similar racist abuse on social media, and the club immediately vowed to support their record signing and do all they could to identify the individual responsible.

"As a club we applaud Rhian for bringing this disgusting message to light,” a United statement said at the time.

"We will now support him and work with him, the Premier League and all the relevant authorities to ensure the person behind this post is brought to justice."