Brentford striker Ivan Toney has revealed that he was racially abused after scoring both goals as the west London side beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 last night (Friday 14 October).
I wasn’t even going to post this but I woke up angry… pic.twitter.com/2MhjRO05rr
— Ivan Toney (@ivantoney24) October 15, 2022
This morning, Toney shared screenshots of an Instagram direct message from an account in the name of Antonio Neill calling him a “black c***”.
He wrote on Twitter: “I wasn’t even going to post this but I woke up angry.”
It is not the first time that Toney has spoken out about racial abuse. He and his Brentford team-mate Rico Henry took to social media to say that their families were targeted after the Bees won 3-2 at Everton in May.
Brentford issued a statement today, calling on the police, legal authorities and Instagram’s parent company to bring the person involved to justice for a “despicable hate crime”.
The statement said: “Last night, Ivan Toney was subjected to disgusting, racist abuse via a direct message received on social media.
“We condemn this discriminatory behaviour in the strongest possible terms.
“An attack on one of our players is an attack on all of us. Ivan will receive the full backing from the club and from the Brentford fans who we have already seen condemning the abuse.
“We expect strong support from the police, legal authorities and from Instagram’s parent company, Meta, to ensure that the individual involved faces the full force of the law for this despicable hate crime.”
Toney was called into the England squad for the first time last month but failed to make it on to the pitch for the Nations League matches against Italy and Germany.
The 26-year-old underlined his credentials to make Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad with his brace at home to Brighton, taking his Premier League goals tally this season to eight.
The Premier League also issued a statement condemning the abuse directed at Toney and will support Brentford’s investigation.
The statement said: “No one should have to face abuse of the kind received by Ivan Toney. It has no place in football or society. We are supporting Ivan and the club with investigations.”
The Football Association said on Twitter: “We are appalled at the racist abuse aimed at Ivan Toney on social media.
“This abhorrent behaviour must have consequences and we support strong action by the authorities and social media companies against the perpetrator.”
What’s really scandalous is the fact that Toney ‘dived’ and got a penalty. What the hell is VAR for if they couldn’t see that?
Brentford were a disgrace in the way they continually tried to rile Veltman, even right in front of the referee.
It’s difficult to deal with this type of behaviour and Fulham were the same but that’s the way things are in the premier league at the Brentford and Fulham level – And to top it all claiming they’re the victims of racism.
Disgusting, unsportsmanlike behaviour to say the least.
What?