Man who sent racist messages to Ivan Toney is banned for three years
Man who sent vile racist messages to Brentford star Ivan Toney in October is banned from EVERY stadium in the UK for three years in a landmark ruling… as he is also handed a four-month suspended sentence
- A man who racially abused Ivan Toney has been banned from football matches
- He will be barred from every stadium in the country for the next three years
- Toney received vile messages after scoring twice for Brentford in October
A man who sent vile racist abuse to Brentford star Ivan Toney in October has received a three-year football banning order – barring him from every stadium in the UK – in a landmark ruling.
Toney had shared a screenshot of a message on social media calling him a ‘black c***’ after the striker had scored twice against Brighton in a 2-0 win last year – uploading it with the caption: ‘I wasn’t even going to post this but I woke up angry.’
An investigation was then launched by Northumbria Police, together with the Met Police, with officers tracing the message to a man who lived in the North Shields area.
Antonio Neill, 25, pleaded guilty to sending the message before magistrates in Newcastle in January and has now been handed a four-month sentence – suspended for two years – and a three-year banning order from all football games in the UK.
It is the first of its kind to be issued under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
A man who abused Ivan Toney in October has been banned from football for three years
Antonio Neill sent vile messages to Toney on social media after he scored against Brighton
It will prevent Neill from attending any match in Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two and National League games. He will also be banned from England home internationals.
In a statement, Brentford said they were pleased to draw a line under the matter and hoped it would deter racist abuse towards footballers in the future.
‘Brentford FC is pleased to see the Antonio Neill case resolved and that Northumbria Police pursued this to a conclusion,’ the club said.
‘Court appearances set a strong precedent for anyone else who commits hate crimes and it is our hope that sentences increase in severity until this sort of crime is eradicated.
‘Ivan Toney has been subject to sickening racist abuse on a regular basis, and we want to see tough action taken against anyone found guilty of such abuse.
Brentford said they hoped the landmark ruling would deter others from abusing footballers
‘The club firmly believes there is no place for racial abuse in football and we continue to support and implement a zero-tolerance policy towards discriminatory behaviour of any kind.
‘All authorities have their role to play in this and we, again, call upon the social media companies to make their platforms safe for all participants and to remove all hateful content.’
Superintendent Scott Cowie, hate crime lead for Northumbria Police, said: ‘Discrimination has absolutely no place in any society, whether out in our communities or online.
‘I hope this reinforces our commitment to taking action against anybody who commits a hate crime – it will not be tolerated and we will do all we can to put perpetrators before the courts.’
Toney was also targeted for racist abuse after he scored against Arsenal in a 1-1 draw at the Emirates in February.
Toney also received racist abuse after he scored in Brentford’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal in February
Brentford said at the time: ‘Immediately after Brentford’s game against Arsenal, Ivan Toney received a barrage of abusive, racist direct messages via his Instagram account.
‘We are disgusted and saddened that Ivan has had to deal with this yet again. We will not tolerate it and we will do everything we can to pursue the individuals involved.
‘Ivan was subject to similar abuse in October last year, and the perpetrator is now facing the consequences in court. How many times does this need to happen?
‘We call on football fans everywhere to relish the competition and rivalry that exists between us, but to respect and embrace our differences and celebrate the diversity that exists throughout the Premier League.
‘There is no room for racism.’
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