Arsenal bad boy Granit Xhaka was already in hot water for getting sent off against Burnley on Sunday.
And the temperature of said water rose further after he was spoken to by police following an alleged incident of racial abuse on Monday evening.
What Granit Xhaka said to a female airport worker, according to an allegation published by The Telegraph, has confused a lot of people on Twitter, many of them Arsenal fans.
The accusation is that Xhaka – annoyed that his friend was not allowed to board a plane after arriving late – called the member of Heathrow Airport staff a “f****** white b****”.
We can all agree that those three words are not very nice.
However, many on social media don’t believe, or at least don’t understand, how they qualify as racist when spoken from one light-skinned person to another.
We’re probably not qualified to define where the line is, either, but, to be safe, how about we all just avoid using race, colour or religion when having a go at someone?
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka faces police racial abuse probe over claim he called BA worker ‘f*cking white b*tch’ (@Independent) pic.twitter.com/Sg1VOQ8j95
— ArsenalFanTV (@ArsenalFanTV) January 24, 2017
Airport incident sounds nothing like Granit Xhaka. This is an upstanding dude off the pitch. Don’t buy it.
— Pain in the Arsenal (@PainInThArsenal) January 24, 2017
How the hell is Granit Xhaka a white man being accused of racism because he called another white person a white bitch? Lmao
— # (@TheGabrielTeam) January 24, 2017
I’m a bit confused by this Granit Xhaka business. He is white, no?
— Kelvin Barker (@ChelseaKelv) January 24, 2017
Need a Wilshere-Xhaka pivot. Racism FC.
— Olly (@Giroudesquee) January 24, 2017
1. The Xhaka incident was reported by a 3rd party (meaning not the woman he allegedly abused)
2. He was not arrested
3. He was not charged— ArsenalFanTV (@ArsenalFanTV) January 24, 2017
The above Tweet is correct. He was not arrested, but interviewed under a police caution.
However, enquires are ongoing, according to a statement from the Met, published by Sky Sports earlier tonight.
It read: “Police were called at 19:29hrs on Monday, 23 January following an allegation that a member of staff had been racially abused at Heathrow Airport, Terminal Five.
“The allegation was made by a third party. Officers attended and spoke with a man in his 20s.
“He was not arrested. He voluntarily attended a west London police station where he was interviewed under caution. Enquires continue.”