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Racial abuse reported to police as Toure rejoins Twitter

ESPN staff
November 4, 2014
A must-win game for Manchester City

Police have been called to investigate claims Yaya Toure was racially abused within hours of reactivating his Twitter account.

Manchester City midfielder Toure rejoined Twitter on Monday, five months after leaving the social network site in order to focus on the World Cup.

Toure posted his first tweet at 6pm, reflecting on City's derby win over Manchester United the previous day:

Within hours of posting the message, Toure received abusive and racist messages from other Twitter accounts with anti-discrimination group Kick It Out reporting the matter to the police.

A Kick It Out spokesperson told Press Association Sport on Monday night: "At this stage we have received complaints about two separate tweets of a racist nature aimed at Yaya Toure and now we are informing the police.

"Yaya Toure has been on Twitter for a matter of hours and he has already received abuse of an appalling nature. We are disturbed by the fact that someone can be treated this way. It makes footballers start to question why they should use these platforms. We will offer Yaya Toure our full support."

Last season, Toure was subjected to racist chanting during City's Champions League game at CSKA Moscow.

"I'm not just disappointed, I'm furious," Toure said after City's 2-1 win in Russia. "It was unbelievable and very sad."

CSKA denied Toure had been abused, but UEFA disagreed and ordered the Russian club to close part of their ground for their next Champions League match.

Yaya Toure impressed during Manchester City's 1-0 derby win on Sunday © Getty Images
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