THE number of reported incidents of discrimination in English football rose by 21 per cent last season to 887, according to figures released by the Football Association on Thursday night.

The number of complaints dealt with by anti-discrimination group Kick It Out also rose significantly, up 38 per cent to 393.

High-profile incidents during the season included Mario Balotelli receiving a one-match ban for retweeting an image of racial stereotypes, Robert Huth being banned for two matches for taking part in a transgender guessing game on Twitter and Wigan owner Dave Whelan’s six-week ban for remarks he made about Jewish people.

There were 124 cases reported to the FA and 723 involving the grassroots game. In terms of the FA incidents, 47 cases involved the professional game — of which 11 led to charges — and the rest were crowd-related cases.

FA head of judicial services Mark Ives said the rise showed people now had confidence in reporting incidents of discrimination.

He said: “The important thing for me is that figures for both reports and convictions continue to rise, as it indicates people have an increased confidence in what constitutes discrimination and how to report it.”

Kick It Out said 42 per cent of complaints it received last season related to social media abuse up 16 per cent on the previous season, with social media complaints rising from 142 to 165.