Racist abuse directed at Liverpool's Mario Balotelli on Twitter is being investigated by police.
The striker received a string of racist messages after he reacted to Manchester United's shock 5-3 defeat at Leicester City by posting: "Man Utd...LOL."
Merseyside Police have used the site to confirm they are looking into the messages:
We can confirm officers are looking into offensive comments made on Twitter about Mario Balotelli earlier today
— Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) September 21, 2014
When asked if they were launching an investigation, a spokesman for Merseyside Police said "yes, we are", and added, "as far as I am aware there have been no complaints but we have been made aware of it by a number of press inquiries."
Anti-discrimination body Kick It Out said earlier it was aware of the tweets and had reported them to the authorities:
Kick It Out is aware of racist tweets directed @FinallyMario and will be reporting to the authorities. Thanks to all who have alerted us.
— Kick It Out (@kickitout) September 21, 2014
The former Inter Milan, Manchester City and AC Milan player has been singled out for racist abuse in the past.
He was heckled by Italian supporters at a pre-World Cup training camp earlier this year and was on the receiving end of numerous instances of racist abuse during his time in Italy.
