Middlesbrough unhappy with Twitter over lack of action over racist tweet aimed at Chuba Akpom | Football News

Middlesbrough have called out Twitter’s “wholly unacceptable” response after a racist post aimed at striker Chuba Akpom was found not to be in violation of its rules.

Akpom, 27, was targeted in a post replying to a tweet from the club’s Twitter account after he scored in Saturday’s 1-1 Sky Bet Championship draw with Bristol City.

Boro immediately reported the message to the police, who are investigating the incident, as well as Twitter.

But the club were unhappy with the response they received from Twitter and retweeted it alongside the initial abuse, with the offending word partially obscured on Monday.

A club statement read: “Twitter’s response was ‘We reviewed the reported content, and didn’t find it to be in violation of the Twitter rules. In this case, no action will be taken at this time’.

“The club has a zero tolerance policy towards hate crime and discrimination of all forms. The police investigation is ongoing.”

Sky Sports News has contacted Twitter for comment.

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Watch highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Bristol City

Cleveland Police confirmed they have launched an investigation.

A spokesperson said: “Cleveland Police is investigating a report from Middlesbrough Football Club of a racist remark made towards a man on social media. Enquiries are ongoing.”

The racist reply, which prompted angry responses from other users, now appears to have been removed and replaced with a message reading: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules.”