PREMIER League referee Mark Halsey has made a complaint to Greater Manchester Police after receiving two abusive tweets on Sunday.

Halsey was the subject of a number of insulting messages on social networking site Twitter, which made reference to his throat cancer battle in 2009, after taking charge of Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat against Manchester United .

The 51-year-old, who lives in Little Lever , has asked the police to investigate the matter, a spokesman for Professional Game Match Officials Limited confirmed. Two tweets were sent out by disgruntled Liverpool supporters following the game, both of which were met with outrage from other Twitter users.

Both have now been removed. Halsey returned to refereeing in March, 2010, following his battle against his illness.