The internet cesspit strikes again as 'fans' flood Newcastle star's social media with abuse following mistake

The internet is one of the greatest inventions of the modern era, but it's also shone a light on the absolute worst of society and that's something we see all too often on the football corners of the web.

Social media is a toilet where people can log on, type a load of abuse directly at someone, then walk away with minimal consequences.

Case in point is poor Paul Dummett's instagram today. The lad hasn't posted anything in seven weeks but that hasn't stopped online trolls claiming to be Newcastle United fans from posting horrific messages on his last post.

Of course, we were all fuming when Dummett wrestled Ashley Young last night allowing Dominic Calvert-Lewin to snatch a point for Everton, but I bet none of us were more angry than Paul Dummett was with himself.

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Airing frustration is one thing, but directly targeting someone online is vile

Dummett came through the Newcastle academy and has been part of the club since 2000. He's given 24 years of his life to this club, he's stuck with the club through its darkest days and he's set to leave at the end of the season - if he's not offered a new contract after losing Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles until January.

The 32-year-old isn't just a veteran of Newcastle United, he's a lifelong supporter and being responsible for his side dropping two points will have crushed him last night.

Why then, do some people think it's acceptable to go onto his social media account and say things like "get out of our club"? - Let's be honest, it's more his club than yours, as I said, 24 years he's been there as a player before supporting them before that.

Thankfully we're only talking about a small minority of "fans"

It's one thing to call a player out on their errors when you're in the ground, in the heat of the moment, and another to then spout off about it after the game in discussions or even write-ups, but going out of your way to find somewhere where the player will see your unnecessary abuse is quite another.

Fortunately, we all know that we're talking about a small minority here, and most of us know how to process our anger in more healthy ways, but it's just sad to see someone like Dummett being directly targeted like this.

It must be nice to have lived a life where you've made no mistakes because that's the only way I could concede that you'd be entitled to call someone out for making an error.