Anti-Fascists Online: Micah Richards quits Twitter after three months of sustained racist abuse

12.2.12

Anti-Fascists Online: Micah Richards quits Twitter after three months of sustained racist abuse: Manchester City player ditches his social networking account over vicious slurs but does not wish to involve police

The Manchester City defender Micah Richards has left Twitter after receiving sustained racist abuse over the past three months.

A spokesman for Richards told the Observer that the England full-back had reluctantly decided to ditch his account on Friday after being attacked on at least 20 occasions.

"He was getting loads of racist abuse, two or three incidents a week since it peaked in November. It's a shame because he really enjoyed the interaction with the fans," he added.

The spokesman, who monitored Richards's social network account and had also grown alarmed at the frequency of the abuse, said the race rows involving the former England captain John Terry and Liverpool's Luis Su�rez in October may have played a part in stoking the abuse.

Although police in Lincolnshire investigated the posting of offensive comments on Richards's official Twitter page in November, the 23-year-old had initially decided to carry on tweeting.