James McClean quits Twitter

Sunderland winger James McClean has deleted his Twitter account after he received death threats on the site.

The 23-year-old was targeted by Northern Ireland supporters following his inclusion in the Republic of Ireland squad for Euro 2012 this summer.

McClean was born in Londonderry but recently opted to pledge his international allegiance to the Republic, something to which several people took exception on Twitter yesterday afternoon.

"It's unfortunate that he has come off Twitter but maybe it's best in the short-term for him," read a statement from the Football Association of Ireland.

Police are investigating the tweets.