Daniel Thomas, a midfielder at Welsh Premier League side Port Talbot Town FC, will not be facing criminal charges for a homophobic tweet he posted regarding Olympic divers Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield. Daley and Waterfield are diving partners and finished fourth in the 10m synchronized dive at London this past August.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer stated that the tweet was “not so offensive that criminal charges need to be brought.” Both divers agreed with the decision. Thomas posted the homophobic tweet only to quickly delete it and then later send it out more widely. He was arrested for doing so.

Starmer stated that “This was, in essence, a one-off offensive Twitter message, intended for family and friends, which made its way into the public domain. It was not intended to reach Mr Daley or Mr Waterfield, it was not part of a campaign, it was not intended to incite others and Mr Thomas removed it reasonably swiftly and has expressed remorse.

Starmer also stated that “Before reaching a final decision in this case, Mr Daley and Mr Waterfield were consulted by the CPS and both indicated that they did not think this case needed a prosecution.”

He indicated that Thomas had intended the tweet to be of a humorous nature, and did not expect it to go beyond his followers, most of whom are friends and family. Starmer added to his statement about the decision that “the time has come for an informed debate about the boundaries of free speech in an age of social media”.