John Obi Mikel has closed his Twitter account, but Chelsea have insisted that his decision is not connected to abusive messages on the social networking site.

Mikel deleted his account less than 24 hours after making a mistake which helped Juventus secure a 2-2 draw in the Champions League opener at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have made a statement on their official Twitter account to confirm that Mikel's decision was in no way connected to any abusive messages, although the police have been informed.

The tweets read: "Not true Mikel quit Twitter due to messages received. He'd wanted to leave for a while & deleted his acct today without looking at it.

"Abuse on social networks is abhorrent. Racist tweets towards Mikel are totally unacceptable. Police informed. #CFC supports strongest action."

The Nigerian gave the ball away 10 minutes from time against the Italian champions, allowing Juve to build an attack from which Fabio Quagliarella slotted home the equaliser.