The mayor of Liverpool has condemned a newspaper article about Everton midfielder Ross Barkley as "racist and prehistoric".
Barkley, 23, was punched in a Liverpool bar last weekend in what his lawyer described as an "unprovoked attack".
Sun columnist, and former editor, Kelvin MacKenzie has compared Barkley to a "gorilla at the zoo".
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said he has reported the article to the police for a "racial slur".
One of Barkley's grandfathers was born in Nigeria.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Anderson said: "Not only is it racist in a sense that he is of mixed race descent, equally it's a racial stereotype of Liverpool.