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Police arrest, charge teenager over racist online post sent to Rangers' Morelos

Police Scotland have confirmed that a 17-year-old boy has been arrested and charged over an alleged racist online post sent to Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos after the Old Firm derby.

Morelos scored his first ever goal against Celtic as Scottish champions Rangers stayed on course for an unbeaten league season with a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

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Police opened an investigation on Monday after receiving complaints regarding an offensive post on social media and later announced a teenager had been arrested.

"We've arrested and charged a 17-year-old male youth in connection with an offensive social media post during the Celtic v Rangers SPFL match yesterday," Greater Glasgow Police said in a statement on Twitter.

"A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal."

The incident comes after allegations that Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara was the subject of racist remarks during Thursday's Europa League defeat against Slavia Prague.

Kamara was furious after Slavia Prague centre-back Ondrej Kudela leaned into his ear and said something while covering his mouth, sparking a melee in the final stages of their round-of-16 tie.

Slavia Prague denied the allegations and claimed Kudela had been assaulted by Kamara after the game. UEFA announced on Friday that it was investigating both incidents.

As a result, Rangers and Celtic did not kneel and decided to stand before the derby with Celtic interim manager John Kennedy saying taking a knee has "lost its impact."

After the match, Rangers captain James Tavernier told Sky Sports: "We took a knee to send out a message but we believe that message isn't strong enough.

"We wanted to send out a strong message and it was an easy decision. You saw the situation on Thursday and that is going to get taken care of.

"But I feel confident saying that all our Black players have received racial abuse this season. That's from social media platforms and this is a key message to them. Action has to be taken -- enough is enough."

On Saturday, Dundee United and Motherwell also opted against taking a knee. Motherwell said it had become an "empty gesture" in the fight against racism.

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke also confirmed that the national team will not take a knee before Thursday's 2022 World Cup qualifier against Austria and will instead "stand in solidarity with the fight against racism."