A man was arrested on suspicion of racially abusing the mother of Premier League striker Darren Bent, police said on Tuesday.

The Sunderland player's mother was allegedly picked on by a Black Cats fan in a pub following the side's 1-0 defeat at Wigan on Saturday.

The England man wrote about the incident on his Twitter page, saying: "So we get beat by Wigan and to make matters worse my mum gets racially abused by a SUNDERLAND fan.

"I won't stand for that."

Greater Manchester Police and their counterparts in the Northumbria force launched a joint investigation.

A 26-year-old from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, was arrested at 6.50pm on Monday, Northumbria Police said.

The force said the man was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated harassment at an alleged incident in Wigan on Saturday, on behalf of Greater Manchester Police.

He was released on police bail until January 12.