Police investigating alleged racist abuse towards Shrewsbury Town's Marko Marosi

Charlton had earlier said one of its fans had been arrested but later amended its statement to say the Metropolitan Police were investigating the incident and no arrest had been made.

Police said that it had been established that two men who were escorted from the home stand following the incident were not in fact involved in the abuse.

The League One fixture was paused with around ten minutes to go, with the scoreline at 1-0 to the hosts, before Marosi, who is Slovakian, approached referee Sam Purkiss appearing to complain about an issue with the home crowd behind his goal.

A lengthy stoppage of seven or eight minutes ensued as the referee consulted the home dugout and other officials. Marosi's team-mates attempted to remove the goalkeeper from the situation.

The Addicks made it 2-0 with a goal from Chuks Aneke immediately from the restart, but the contest has been overshadowed by the alleged remarks aimed at the Shrewsbury No.1 which was subsequently confirmed by home boss Johnnie Jackson and strongly condemned by Shrews boss Steve Cotterill.

Cotterill said: "Something was said. He had something shouted at him, I'm not prepared to repeat that on camera because if I did repeat it, it would be very offensive and everybody would say 'Why has he said what he said?'

"It was very offensive, certainly not timely, in this moment, with what's going on in the world.

"It's not timely - and also to get his nationality right would be handy.

"He's OK. It's not a nice thing to happen to him today, I don't know if it's the first time to happen to him in his career."

Cotterill said the alleged incident from 'a couple of fools' should not reflect on Charlton as a whole. The manager added that he does not think Marosi, 28, will press charges.

"You can't legislate for a couple of fools in the crowd. Charlton Athletic have been a proper club. I don't think Marko will press charges, I think it's probably best he lets it go otherwise he's going to be targeted," the manager added.

"It was more about getting the person out the ground for what he said to Marko. It's just not acceptable in this day and age.

"Unfortunately it then reflects on the good folk of Charlton Athletic and their club. It shouldn't and hopefully it won't."

Marosi, who joined Shrewsbury from Coventry City last summer, released a statement on his social media on Saturday evening.

It read: "Want to thank my manager, the staff, my teammates, and the fans for their support after today's incident.

"Just want to clear up any decisions that were made today were made by me, I then took to the gaffer, told him I didn't want to press charges and he told me they will stand by whatever decision I make.

"The incident will be dealt with appropriately by Charlton Athletic and we should leave the matter to them.

"We all stand together."

Charlton Athletic released an updated club statement which read: "The club can confirm that police are investigating the incident and appealing for information, however no arrests have been made at this stage.

"Police have said that it has been established that the two individuals who were removed from the stadium at the request of referee Sam Purkiss were not involved in the abuse. They were allowed to leave with no further action taken against them. The club would like to thank the individuals for their compliance.

"The club are continuing to work with the police in an effort to identify those who were involved in the incident. Any supporters with information on the incident are advised to get in touch with the club or call 101.

"The club has a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination and a long history of promoting equality and tackling discrimination."

Home boss Jackson said of the incident: "He [Marosi] said there had been an incident in the crowd. The goalkeeper had made an accusation and they needed to deal with it. That’s as far as I know about it."

"Obviously, it’s a delicate situation and matter so it’s probably best not to speculate.

"The club will look into it and deal with it as they see fit. I believe it was an allegation of racism. That’s what the referee said."

Shrewsbury also released a statement revealing they were saddened and deeply disappointed with the alleged abuse directed at their player.

It read: "Shrewsbury Town Football Club is disgusted to hear reports about the alleged vile racist abuse that Marko Marosi was subjected to during Town’s Sky Bet League One fixture against Charlton Athletic.

"The Club is pleased that Marko reported the abuse immediately to the match officials and quickly pointed out the offender. We hope the individual is educated and dealt with appropriately. Shrewsbury Town would like to stress that this is an isolated incident and does not reflect the good, loyal fanbase of Charlton Athletic.

"We hope the individual learns that this abhorrent verbal abuse will not be tolerated anywhere in football or in any walk of life.

"Shrewsbury Town stands together against discrimination and we stand with Marko. We will provide Marko with any support he needs and we will do everything within our power to ensure this incident is dealt with appropriately."

A statement from the Met Police on the incident said: “Shortly before the end of the match between Shrewsbury and Charlton at The Valley on Saturday, 23 April, the referee was made aware of racial abuse directed at a Shrewsbury player.

“Two males were escorted from the stand by stewards and were handed over to officers.

“After making further enquiries and speaking to witnesses, it was established that the two men escorted from the stand were not involved in the abuse. They were allowed to leave with no further action taken against them.

“Officers will work with the club to carry out further enquiries in an effort to identify those who were involved in the incident.”