Dozens of antisemitic messages have been posted on Twitter aimed at Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy.

The tweets highlighted Mr Levy's Jewish background and commented on his business acumen at the Premier League club.

They came amid heightened international scrutiny of Twitter's ability to tackle abusive users of the site, following a series of incidents in which women and British MPs were targeted with messages threatening rape and violence.

The potential transfer of Wales international Gareth Bale from Mr Levy's London club to Spanish side Real Madrid was the apparent catalyst for the antisemitic messages.

Richard Campbell, a tweeter using the handle @rycardcampbell, posted a message on Monday evening which read: "Daniel Levy is a greedy Jewish c***. He should've bit Real Madrid's hands off when they offered £85 million for that diving monkey Bale."

Watford-based Ian Bartrick wrote on his @iBartrick account: "Daniel Levy is a Jew, and his dealings in the transfer market are very 'Jewish'."

He later added: "Haha I love when you mention the words 'Jew' or 'Jewish' on twitter you lose followers."

A Sheffield-based tweeter using the handle @TomHandleyy posted: "Daniel Levy is Jewish as f*** with transfers #PennyPincher."

The messages were highlighted by Jay Stoll, general secretary of the London School of Economics' Students' Union. He challenged some of the abusive users and posted a message saying Twitter was "a cesspit of filth".

A spokesman for the Community Security Trust, which monitors and records antisemitism, said: "Online abuse is fast becoming a constant and depressing feature of modern life. Twitter needs to make it easier to report abuse and police should act when it is actual racist incitement."

It is not thought any of the Twitter users have been reported to police.