LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - Almost 40,000 abusive messages aimed at Premier League players -- many of them racist -- have been posted online this season, according to the anti-discrimination body "Kick It Out".
Liverpool's Italian forward Mario Balotelli was the most abused player with some 8,000 posts, of which more than half were racist in nature.
His team mate Daniel Sturridge and Arsenal's Danny Welbeck were also regular victims.
More than 95,000 other messages were directed at clubs, with Chelsea and Liverpool featuring most frequently.
"Kick It Out" director Roisin Wood told the BBC the level of abuse was "truly staggering".