Andy Robertson deletes Twitter account after abuse from fans

Andy Robertson tangles with Napoli forward Jose Callejon during the Champions League clash in Naples. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

The insults came in the wake of Robertson giving away a late penalty against Napoli the previous night, which proved a pivotal moment in the defeat in their opening match of the Champions League group stage.

Even though his manager, Jurgen Klopp, deflected attention from his players by insisting that Napoli’s Jose Callejon threw himself down to win the penalty, it did not stop Robertson facing a flood of criticism online.

Footballers are growing tired of the relentless abuse they are subjected to on social media sites. Troy Deeney, the Watford striker, disabled comments on one of the sites after being racially abused.

Scotland captain Robertson, considered one of the best full-backs in the world, is the first high-profile player to leave the site, even if only temporarily, following abuse about their performance.

Racism on the sites has spiralled out of control over several years prompting prominent players to speak out this season. Marcus Rashford, one of those racially abused after missing a penalty, said recently that players would soon leave the sites if abuse continued. “I think that people will start to come off the platforms and if it is doing more bad than good, I don’t think there’s a  reason to have the channels,” the 21-year-old Manchester United striker said.

“The only reason I have the social media channels is to help the fans, because a lot of my fans are young people and you want to help them. That’s what the strength was of social media.

“The minute the cons outweigh the pros, it leaves you with not much point with being on there.”

Meanwhile, Robertson’s team-mate, Virgil van Dijk, insists there is “no reason for panic” after Liverpool fell to their first defeat in 12 matches.

The Champions League holders were beaten in their first return to the competition away to Napoli on Tuesday night, conceding two late goals, four months on from lifting the trophy in Madrid.

But Van Dijk said: “Both sides were full in the game, [I] thought it was going to be a draw. Obviously the penalty changed it all and you’re going home with no points, but it shouldn’t [need to] be a wake-up call.

“We’ve been performing since the start of the season outstanding so there’s no reason for panic. The majority of the game we played well, we put them under pressure, we created opportunities on the break, there’s a lot of positive things about [the match]. The only thing that is not positive is the result.”

Liverpool’s previous loss came in the 3-0 defeat by  Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final last season, a deficit they overcame spectacularly in the second leg to reach the final.

But Van Dijk compared the defeat in Naples in the group stage last season to the performance this week and believes Liverpool actually showed improvement.

“We try to win the game, to definitely be better than we were last year; last year was one of our poorest games over here,” he pointed out.

“We played well at times [on Tuesday night] and made it very  difficult for them and it’s not easy to do that because they have the fans, they are a  very good football side but  we did it.”