Mohamed Salah: Police investigate racist tweet aimed at Liverpool star

Police in Liverpool have begun the investigation of a racist tweet aimed at Reds forward Mohamed Salah.

The message, which mocked the image of the footballer - among others - was circulated on Wednesday, the BBC reports.

"Merseyside Police is aware of an offensive tweet posted in relation to a Liverpool footballer, and shared by others, and will be investigating the matter,” Merseyside Police spokesman said, as reported by BBC Sport.

"Hate crime in any guise will not be tolerated and those who use the internet to target others, and who commit a criminal offence such as hate crime in doing so, need to understand that they are not beyond the law."

Everton have condemned the act and are also probing the incident to ascertain if the Twitter user has any links with the club.

"Everton condemns in the strongest terms any kind of racism,” an Everton spokesman said.

"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 was the Reds’ highest goalscorer last season with 27 goals and the joint Premier League top-scorer with 22 goals.

The fleet-footed forward will hope to put the racist incident behind him by hitting the ground running when Liverpool open their 2019-20 English Premier League campaign against Norwich City on Friday.