Ivan Toney: Brentford 'disgusted' by further racist online abuse towards striker
- Published
Ivan Toney scored his 15th goal of the season in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Arsenal
Brentford say they are "disgusted and saddened" by "abusive, racist messages" sent to striker Ivan Toney following Saturday's 1-1 draw at Arsenal.
The club said the 26-year-old, who scored an equaliser at Emirates Stadium, received a barrage of direct messages to his Instagram account.
In January, a man admitted a charge of sending an offensive message and apologised in court to Toney.
"How many times does this need to happen?" a Brentford statement read.
"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."
In a statement, Arsenal said: "We stand with Ivan Toney and are working with Brentford to identify those who sent racist abuse.
"At Arsenal we condemn all forms of discrimination and take a zero-tolerance approach. We will apply the strongest possible action to anyone we can identify sending hateful messages."
In October, Toney shared an image of abuse he received on Twitter, leading police to investigate.
Antonio Neill, 24, of Blyth, Northumberland, admitted a charge of sending an offensive message to Toney and will be sentenced next month.
"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," the statement added.
"There is no room for racism."
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