Fury at bookmaker for praising a darts fan who 'blacked-up' as Diane Abbott for his 'best fancy dress costume'

Star Sports shared image of a fan attending the PDC World Darts Championship
The 'racist' tweet quickly went viral and was shared thousands of times
Ms Abbott has previously spoken out about the online abuse she has faced

By Charlie Bayliss and Scott Campbell For Mailonline

Published: 21:25 GMT, 16 December 2017 | Updated: 06:40 GMT, 17 December 2017

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A bookmaker has refused to apologise after posting a picture of a darts fan 'blacked-up' as Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott.

Star Sports shared the image of a fan attending the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace while wearing black make-up as well as a wig and glasses.

The man, who has not been named, also wore a red suit jacket as well as a Labour rosette.

The tweet - which quickly went viral and was shared thousands of times - was captioned: 'An early contender for best fancy dress costume at the #PDC #WorldDartsChampionships tonight at #AllyPally.'

Ms Abbott, pictured, the Labour MP for Hackney, has previously spoken out about the online abuse she has faced

It has sparked a furious backlash with Twitter users slamming the tweet as 'racist'.

The Labour MP for Hackney has previously spoken out about the online abuse she has faced.

A study by Amnesty International revealed Ms Abbott was the most targeted of all female MPs, with 45 per cent of tweets sent to her in the six weeks before June's election classed as abusive.

But the Star Sports has refused to apologise saying that 'you're not going to please everybody'.

These group of men dressed up as Sasha Baron Cohen's famous 'Ali G' character for the second day of the world dart's championship at Alexandra Palace in North London

The group of men walk through to the venue with a pitcher of beers in their hands. They were among a number of others who donned fancy dress to the event, which comes to a conclusion on January 1

A spokesman told The Independent:'We were at Cheltenham yesterday and we were also at the darts and there were people taking pictures with guys in Batman outfits and Superman outfits, and also this guy in a Diane Abbott outfit.

'We tweeted it and it has had an unprecedented response in terms of retweets and likes.

'Ultimately you're not going to please everybody all the time. We have never had anything on our social media that has had such a positive response.'

Three men wearing squid costumes were pictured at the event. Those who attended the venue on day one saw Michael van Gerwen advance to the second round after defeating Christian Kist in a 3-1 victory

Revellers got into the Christmas spirit by wearing Father Christmas outfits topped with masks of darts legend Phil Taylor, who plays his last ever tournament

Super Mario characters were also out in full force for the second day of the William Hill World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace

Another group wearing Christmas jumpers also wear masks of 16-time world champion Phil Taylor. The sport's biggest tournament will come to a close on January 1 2018, with the winner set to lift the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy

Other fans were seen entering the North London venue wearing a range of different fancy dress, including Ali G attire, Super Mario and even turning up as Father Christmas.

Those who attended the venue on day one saw Michael van Gerwen advance to the second round after defeating Christian Kist in a 3-1 victory.

The Dutch world number one is looking to defend the title he won last year, while 16-time world champion Phil Taylor will play in his final ever tournament.

The sport's biggest tournament will come to a close on January 1 2018, with the winner set to lift the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy.