Middlesbrough Football Club have hit out at social media platform Twitter after they deemed racist abuse aimed at Chuba Akpom was 'not in violation of Twitter rules'.

Boro received a reply to a tweet on Saturday within minutes of full-time of the game against Bristol City which included a highly derogatory racist term.

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The club immediately reported the tweet to both Twitter and Cleveland Police.

While Cleveland Police's investigation remains ongoing, Boro received an email response from Twitter 24 hours later, which read: "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."

Tweeting about the incident, the club's official Twitter account also wrote: "FAO @Twitter: This is completely unacceptable #Enough #RiverSideBySide."

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A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: "Cleveland Police is investigating a report from Middlesbrough FC of a racist remark made towards a man on social media. Enquiries are ongoing."

The abuse aimed at Akpom comes after Elon Musk's recent takeover of the social media platform, amid warnings from politicians and campaigners that hate speech on the platform must be held in check. Musk is a self-described 'free speech absolutist'.

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