Brendan Rodgers on online racial abuse of Mario Balotelli: 'I was surprised and shocked'

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes the estimated 4,000 racist messages that Mario Balotelli has received this season are 4,000 too many.

Asked about the research from anti-discrimination body Kick It Out that showed the extent to which Balotelli has been racially abused online, Rodgers expressed genuine shock at the numbers and stressed that racism in football is an issue that needs to be eradicated.

"I was aware of the findings and I was surprised and shocked," Rodgers said, according to the Guardian. "I think one message is one too many to be honest. We support all the relevant organisations who are working to stamp all of this out.

"In the modern world and modern football it is something which is very much there, but we need to eradicate all of it out of social life and professional sport. I think it is the responsibility of us all to help all the various organisations stamp it out."

Kick It Out's research, which was carried out by social media management agency Tempero and analytics firm Brandwatch, also estimated that Balotelli's teammate, Daniel Sturridge, and Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck have each received over 1,000 racist messages this season.

It's worth noting that Balotelli was charged by the Football Association in December over an Instagram post that depicted Nintendo character Super Mario and read: "Don't be racist - be like Mario. He's an Italian plumber created by Japanese people who speaks English and looks like a Mexican. Jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew."