Brighton winger Anthony Knockaert quits Twitter after social media cowards troll him with sick online abuse following death of his father

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Anthony Knockaert has closed his Twitter account after sick online abuse followed his revelations in Sportsmail on Saturday about struggling with grief since the death of his father.

Knockaert's emotional words of honesty and courage about his need for counselling were seized upon by the cowards who get their kicks by trolling on social media.

The 25-year-old Brighton winger, voted the Championship's player of the year last season, came off the bench during a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, but his omission was not connected to his mental wellbeing, according to Chris Hughton.

Brighton's brave Anthony Knockaert came off the bench to play against Arsenal on Sunday

Knockaert revealed in Sportsmail he is struggling to cope with the death of his father

'The decision was more tactical,' said the Brighton manager.

'Anthony's been good. What didn't help him was missing four weeks of pre-season with an injury.

'He's been a little bit behind since then and it's going to be tougher for him this season. We're going to be up against better teams with better full backs.'