Last weekend, the Premier League offered us hope that the title race is far from a forgone conclusion just yet as Manchester City lost to Chelsea — beaten convincingly for the first time this season.

But the very game that fostered this renewed excitement was overshadowed by a particularly ugly off-the-field incident at Stamford Bridge.

As Raheem Sterling recovered a dead ball to tee up a corner-kick, the 24-year-old received a shocking tirade of abuse from opposition fans in the front row of the Mathew Harding lower tier. The outburst was captured by television cameras and broadcaster BT Sport stated they were passing the footage to the relevant authorities. Before the day was out, the Metropolitan Police, as well as Chelsea Football Club, had begun separate investigations after receiving reports of racial abuse directed at the City forward.