A Savills employee who has been criticised for a racist message he allegedly posted following England's Euro 2020 final loss has been named.
Andrew Bone has been identified as the man who owns the social media account behind one of the many offensive tweets which sparked outrage.
Following the missed final penalty against Italy on Sunday, a tweet from an account attributed to his name said "N****** ruined it for us.", the Mirror reports.
The tweet was part of a torrent of racist abuse directed at England players Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.
The tweet which has since been deleted was soon met with furious replies. Screenshots of the post were taken and social media users found him on other sites, including LinkedIn, helping them determine he worked for Savills.
The same Twitter account later followed up with another tweet, believed to be in response to the reaction from fellow social media users.
He said: "Omg, I haven't said anything."
According to LinkedIn, Mr Bone has been working as a commercial building manager at Savills Estate Agents since April 2021.
The company confirmed on Monday that it had taken action over the tweets.
It said in a statement: "Savills confirms that the staff member connected with the racist comments placed on Twitter claims that his account was taken over by a third party and that the matter is being referred to the Greater Manchester Police.
"Savills has acted swiftly and confirms that the individual is suspended from duty pending the findings of this investigation, which is being progressed as a priority.
"Savills has a policy of zero tolerance on any form of racial abuse or discrimination."
Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Bone's stepfather claimed his relative had been "hacked".
MailOnline reports that Mr Bone himself went to police about the tweet and reported it.
Robert Dutson said: "He didn't post the remark. His account has been hacked.
"That is not him. He is not a racist. The tweet appears to have come from a device not used by this account before."
Mr Bone's original tweet was shared numerous times in the wake of the match, with people urging others to contact his place of work.
"Savills is this the sort of person you have working for you?!" one person wrote.
Another said: "Just because you’ve deleted it doesn’t mean you didn’t say it, Savills we trust you'll respond to this situation and act accordingly."
Savills said in a statement: "Savills confirms that the staff member connected with racist comments placed on Twitter claims that his account was taken over by a third party and that the matter is being referred to the Greater Manchester Police.
"Savills has acted swiftly and confirms that the individual is suspended from duty pending the findings of this investigation, which is being progressed as a priority. Savills has a policy of zero tolerance on any form of racial abuse or discrimination."
Mr Bone's LinkedIn profile also since been taken down.
The racism levelled at England's squad after defeat to Italy had drawn reactions from several high profile figure, including the Duke of Cambridge.
He said: "I am sickened by the racist abuse aimed at England players after last night’s match.
"It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour.
"It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also commented on the racist comments during a Downing Street press conference on Monday.
He said those hurling insults should "crawl back under the rock from which you emerged".
Home Secretary Priti Patel has also slammed the racist trolls however defender Tyrone Mings swiped back at her.
He said Ms Patel had "stoke(d) the fire" after she previously refused to criticise fans who booed the team for taking the knee in protest against racial injustice.
He said: "You don't get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as 'Gesture Politics' & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we're campaigning against, happens."
Ms Patel declined to comment on his tweet.
A number of Three Lions squad members have also come out and hit back against racist comments made online.
Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and captain Harry Kane all posted emotional messages on social media.
England lost after missing three of their five penalties, with Marcus Rashford hitting the post and Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saving Jadon Sancho's shot.
The pressure was then on young Bukayo Saka, who sadly saw the stopper save his spot-kick too.
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