Balotelli Twitter hate campaign is 'depressing but no surprise'

Liverpool striker has been sent 4,000 racist messages on social media so far this season

Mario Balotelli
(Image credit: PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty)

Research from anti-discrimination group Kick It Out has revealed that Mario Balotelli has received more than 4,000 racist messages via social media this season, with England strikers Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge also receiving more than 1,000 abusive massages in the past eight months.

It is, says David Conn in The Guardian, "profoundly depressing" that between August and March this season there have been 134,000 discriminatory football-related posts that are "racist, homophobic, sexist and... possibly amounting to hate crime". The initial reaction may be one of "basic despair" he says, but we should "probably not be shocked".

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