A 75-YEAR-old man has been arrested after a Black schoolboy was attacked while playing football in Hertfordshire.

Hertfordshire Police say a 75-year-old from Bishop’s Stortford was arrested on Friday 1 March, on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).

He was questioned and later bailed while enquiries continue.

The shocking incident took place on Sunday 4 February, at Hertford Heath Playing Fields, in front of the boy’s horrified teammates, the opposing team, football coaches and parents.

The boy’s mother, who previously spoke to The Voice, anonymously, said her son went to throw the ball back-in play after winning a free kick, when he was grabbed, kicked and punched in the eye by a white adult spectator.

She said: “This man from the crowd came and grabbed my son’s shirt and said ‘it’s always you’ and kicked my son’s leg before punching him in the eye.

“Punching him and scaring his eye.”

“He was in a lot of pain. That punch could have killed my child,” she said.

East Herts police are keen to speak to anyone who witnessed the incident at Hertford Heath Park in Hertford on Sunday 4 February.

Police say at around 12.45pm, a 14-year-old boy playing football was kicked in the shins and punched in the face by a spectator.

The attack has had a detrimental impact on the victim, who is being supported by local officers.

ABH assault

The boy’s mother, previously said she believes the attack was racially motivated because the man said to her son “it is always you” before grabbing him and attacking him.

She doesn’t believe the spectator would have physically attacked a White child.

“He’s a Black boy, that is a white man, in my head it’s racial because you would not put your hand on a white child like that?” she said.

The police previously told The Voice, the “incident is currently being treated as an ABH Assault with no racially aggravated factors at this time.” 

Police are urging the public to also report information online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/10264/24.

Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.