Spanish police intervene after Jordanian player receives threats and racial insults

(Getty/Quality Sport Images)

As the toxic nature of betting continues to be a cause for concern on social media for professional players, it's no different on court.

World No.301 Abdullah Shelbayh was subjected to threats and racist comments from a group of spectators during his ATP Challenger match in Madrid on Tuesday.

The Jordanian qualifier, who lost in three sets to fifth seed Zsombor Piros, temporarily halted play trailing 0-3 in the deciding set, as he pleaded with the chair umpire to "kick him out", referring to a heckler.

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Spanish outlet Marca reports that Shelbayh even endured references to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the group mistakenly classified the 22-year-old as a Palestinian instead of Jordanian, given the two national flags are similar.

It was also confirmed that tournament organisers expressed their regret over the incident, and ensured that player safety and respect is of the utmost importance.

Police were called to the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid at Shelbayh's request, where they took one of the harassers into custody.

The ATP Challenger is a 75-tier event, which coincides in the same week as the WTA 125 Madrid Challenger.

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