Antonio Neill, who sent the racist message to Ivan Toney over social media on October 14 last year, has also been handed a four-month sentence suspended for two years; Toney shared the abuse he received on his Instagram, sparking a police investigation which found the suspect in Blyth
Tuesday 14 March 2023 16:20, UK
A 24-year-old man has been handed a three-year stadium ban from every stadium in the UK for racially abusing Brentford striker Ivan Toney.
Antonio Neill, who sent the racist message to Toney over social media on October 14 last year, has also been handed a four-month sentence suspended for two years.
Toney shared the abuse he received on his Instagram account, sparking a police investigation which found the suspect in Blyth.
Neill pleaded guilty to sending an offensive message at Newcastle Magistrates' Court in January before being sentenced on Monday.
Brentford and Northumberland Police are describing this as a "landmark ruling" because it is "the first of its kind to be issued under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022".
It is the first sentence to be passed under the act, with the stadium ban including grounds at all Premier League, Championship, Leagues One and Two and National League clubs, as well as England home internationals, qualifiers and tournament matches.
Toney shared racially abusive messages that had been sent to him on Instagram by an account controlled by Neill in October, the morning after his goals had helped Brentford to a 2-0 win over Brighton.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank believes the sentence handed to the man convicted of racially abusing Toney was not strong enough.
Frank said he was pleased that authorities had sent a clear message over their willingness to tolerate racism in football, particularly in the light of allegations that Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters was racially abused during Sunday's game at Old Trafford, but questioned whether the sentence fit the severity of the offence.
"It's a very strong message," said Frank. "Personally I'm very pleased that racial abuse is getting into court.
"I think the sentence is not hard enough, it could be harder. It's a suspended sentence. But I think it's a good step in the right direction to hopefully show the world that there's no room for racial abuse.
"Hopefully it's also a reminder to the social media companies that they can do even more. Also the situation with Walker-Peters, what he experienced also, it's very sad. It's a constant development area for society. We need to be very aware of that."
Sky Sports News senior reporter Rob Dorsett:
"It is significant but I think it needs explaining that landmark ruling bit because we have seen a lot of cases of football fans getting banning orders for racially abusing players online.
"What's different here is that the man found guilty here is a Newcastle fan and he abused Toney, a Brentford player, after the game between Brentford and Brighton.
"Northumbria Police say this is different from all the other cases because the racist abuse wasn't specifically connected to the football match.
"The Newcastle fan was watching the game but the unique factor here - and what's different to all the other cases - is that the police felt this was not racist abuse directly related to football and yet the punishment is a football banning order."
