The midfielder suffered abuse after reactivating his social media account and doesn’t understand why there are so many race-related issues in football compared to other sports

Manchester City star Yaya Toure has branded racial abuse that he suffered on Twitter as “a disgrace”.

The midfielder reactivated his social media account on Monday following the Blues’ derby win over Manchester United, but received a number of racist messages in reply.

Kick It Out have revealed that they have contacted the police over the abuse, and Toure himself hopes that those involved can be educated if caught.

“For me it’s a disgrace to be honest,” he told BBC Sport. “We need to do something to try to tell people those kinds of behaviour have to stop.

“I want those people to understand what they’re doing is wrong.”

Toure has suffered racist abuse before after being targeted by CSKA Moscow fans in 2013 while a number of professionals have been sent offensive messages online.

And the 31-year-old is astounded as to why football supporters act in such a way given the lack of similar incidents in other sports.

“To have such aggression in sport, I can’t understand that. That’s why I’ve been trying to fight it,” he added.

“Football doesn’t have a colour. We’re just people from all over the world trying to enjoy the game.

“I never see this in rugby, I never see that in tennis or anything else, I don’t know where it’s coming from.”