South Wales Police on Sunday arrested a man over "racially offensive" tweets he allegedly wrote about Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba, who is fighting for his life after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field.
"South Wales Police have arrested a 21-year-old male from the Ponty Pridd area in connection with racially offensive comments made on the social media site Twitter," the police force said in a statement, adding that the suspect was in custody at Swansea Central Police station.
While authorities neither revealed the man's name nor published the tweets that lead to his arrest, various local media said the comments appeared on the Twitter account @liamstacey9 which has since been disabled.
The Daily Mail identified the man as Liam Stacey, a biology student at Swansea University, who allegedly wrote on the microblogging site, "LOL. F*ck Muamba. He's dead!!! #haha."
When other Twitter users voiced their objections, the 21-year-old responded with a slew of racist and sexist abuse.
This was shortly followed by a tweet claiming that he had not used his cell phone at the time the abusive comments were sent, and his account had been hacked.
Muamba stopped breathing after collapsing on the field late in the first half of Bolton's televised FA Cup quarter-final clash with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
The 23-year-old African player received life-saving treatment from on-site medical staff amid shock in the stadium, with several players visibly overwhelmed by his sudden collapse.
He is currently in the intensive care unit of the London Chest Hospital's world-class heart attack center. Bolton manager Owen Coyle earlier described the coming day as "absolutely crucial" in Muamba's bid to stay alive.
Coyle urged fans to keep Muamba in their prayers, saying, "We've obviously been inundated with people wishing him well. And we hope that if everybody can pray strongly that Fabrice is able to recover."
Muamba moved to the UK with his family in 1999, fleeing the guerrilla war in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
