A racist troll who abused Reece James has reportedly been located in the Middle East just three weeks before the 2022 World Cup takes place in Qatar.
Back in January 2022, James shared a series of racist messages he had received on social media. The 22-year-old also reported the abuse to the police and on Instagram.
The Met Police’s specialist football unit have been working on finding the individual who sent the messages for the past 21 months.
According to The Sun, they have finally had a breakthrough – having successfully located the guilty party in the Middle East.
As a result, the Met Police have been working closely with the authorities in the Middle East to find the individual’s exact whereabouts.
Speaking to The Sun, James said: ‘It’s tough. I get (racist) messages here and there, but I’ve never really had it face to face.
‘It’s always the way (that trolls hide behind the keyboard); whenever I see it I report it. It’s one of those things that is hard to control. Most of the time they are fake accounts.’
James was first interviewed by the police in February last year after reporting the racist abuse he had received on January 29.
The England star – who deleted social media after the incident – shared a screenshot of the abusive messages he received on Instagram.
In a series of direct messages, James was called a ‘monkey’ and asked how he could live with ‘f****** dirty black skin’.
James reportedly spoke to Instagram, the Met Police and officials abroad about the incident. However, the culprit has only been found now.
James said the wait as been ‘tough’ but insisted he had to do something about the racist abuse he had received.
James said: ‘It’s tough, when you have to take so much time on interviews and statements, and then it doesn’t lead to anything.
‘I had this one last season, monkey emojis and stuff. Before I didn’t really open my messages, but one day I managed to see it, and reported it.’
