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14th March 2023
10:28am GMT
A man has been banned from all football matches in the UK for the next three years after he racially abused Brentford striker Ivan Toney on social media.
Following Brentford's 2-0 win against Brighton in October - in which Toney bagged both goals - the striker shared screenshots of racist messages he had received on Instagram.
Sharing the messages, sent by 24-year-old Antonio Neill, on Twitter, he wrote: “I wasn’t even going to post this but I woke up angry…”
Two days after he revealed the horrific abuse, Meta, Instagram's parent company, said they were unable to take action on the account as it hadn’t been reported through their in-programme tools.
But now, Neill has been handed a nation-wide stadium ban following an investigation by police in what Brentford has described as a "groundbreaking ruling."
Northumbria Police launched a full investigation into the messages, with the support of the Metropolitan Police.
On January 25, Neill, of Robert Street, Blyth, pleaded guilty to sending an offensive message when he appeared before magistrates in Newcastle.
And yesterday (March 13) he was handed a four-month prison sentence suspended for two years, along with a three-year football banning order. The ban is the first of its kind to be issued under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Neill is now banned from attending any regulated football match in the UK, which includes Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two and National League fixtures, as well as England home internationals.
He is also banned from travelling abroad to watch international friendlies, qualification matches and tournaments.
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 am therefore delighted that the seriousness of Neill’s offence has been reflected with this banning order, which forbids him from attending any regulated football in the United Kingdom.
“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.
“I would like to thank everyone who played their part in this particular case, including the team of officers who worked tirelessly to secure justice as well as our colleagues at the Metropolitan Police, the UK Football Policing Unit and the Premier League.”
Chief constable Mark Roberts, NPCC lead for football policing, said: “This result makes it clear that there are real consequences for those people who think they can hide behind a keyboard to post hateful comments.
“I’m pleased the new legislation has enabled a banning order to be issued in this case, which shows that the police, CPS and the courts are taking these offences very seriously.
“Northumbria Police have been proactive in seeking this order and it shows we are taking a proactive approach.
“I would urge others who are victims of online hate to come forward and report it to police so it can be investigated and action can be taken.”
In a statement, Brentford said the club was "pleased to see the Antonio Neill case resolved and that Northumbria Police pursued this to a conclusion."
It continued: "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.
"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."
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