A man has been arrested after a former Gillingham player was sent a racist and threatening message on Facebook.

Mark McCammon was sent a message which contained extreme racist language and was told he would have his “throat cut” if he returned to Gillingham.

The 34-year-old, who took the club to an employment tribunal last year alleging racial victimisation, reported it at a police station in London a month ago on June 7, the day after he received the message.

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that a 47-year-old man from West Sussex was arrested as part of the investigation on Saturday.

He has been released pending further enquiries and will have to answer bail early next month.

After growing frustrated with the police’s response, McCammon posted a picture of the message on his Twitter account last week in the hope that someone on the site might know them.

McCammon recently labelled the investigation a “shambles".

He said: “The police called me and I told them it’s not good enough. I’ve passed the name on to them and taken pictures off his Facebook.

“I’ve made it as easy for them as possible. If the police wanted him that badly they would’ve found him.”

McCammon, a former Barbados international, joined Gillingham in 2008 and was the club's highest paid player at the time.

He left in 2011 after scoring five goals in 62 appearances.

Last year he won almost £70,000 in an employment tribunal against the Gills.

The hearing ruled McCammon had been dismissed for gross misconduct as an act of racial victimisation.

He claimed the club docked his wages, refused him treatment for an injury and fined him for not turning up for training in the snow.

McCammon, who was awarded £68,728, alleged he and other black players were treated differently from white players in the first case of its kind.

The club have always denied the allegations, and appealed against the decision.

The appeal will be heard in September.