Watford football club have been in contact with Hertfordshire Police following online racist abuse of Christian Kabasele.

The Hornets' defender shared a screenshot of the abuse he received over social media and the club has confirmed they have reported it to Herts constabulary.

Watford recently announced their own 'We campaign' launched to help fight against discriminatory abuse and as part of this campaign, they say they will report news of any action taken against the offender.

Kabasele himself has called for tighter sanctions to be put in place to deter anyone from racially abusing people.

Speaking via the club website the defender said: "Having played in Bulgaria before, I was sure before the recent England game that there would be some kind of problem. I had the same problem in the same stadium and when I spoke to the people afterwards they said to just carry on because there was nothing they could do and nothing would change.

"Until UEFA make stronger punishments – like making the team the person supports lose the game 5-0, or hitting them in the wallet where it’s really painful – we will still have these problems. I was expecting there would be some kind of incident in the England game but not at the level there was. The England team did well to react on the pitch in this way. People have said they should have walked off but at the end of the day, the referee must take the responsibility."

The 28-year-old also called on social media companies to do more to combat racism online and claimed he now spends less time online, where he has received abuse in the past.

"I have been abused on the pitch by supporters in other countries, and in England I have experienced this on social media," he said.

"I must admit that since the incidents after the FA Cup semi-final I now go on social media less. Sometimes I prefer not to go on there at all. For me, it is not the real world. There are people on there who think no-one will find them so they can spread their anger and hate about others without being punished. Personally, I am really disappointed by the social media companies because they have the resources to find something to beat this but at the moment their work is very weak."