Ivan Toney recently returned to action after an eight-month ban (Photo: Getty)
Brentford Football Club have called for ‘more decisive and urgent action to combat online hate’ after star player Ivan Toney was subjected to yet more racist abuse.
The Premier League club released a statement on Thursday not only condemning the abuse but detailing failings from social media companies.
‘We are angered and frustrated to report that Ivan Toney has been subjected to racist abuse on Instagram once more,’ it read.
‘We have initiated investigations into this vile harassment which we condemn in the strongest terms. Sadly, this isn’t the first time Ivan has had to deal with this.
‘A similar incident occurred just four weeks ago, leading us to identify an alleged perpetrator whom we reported to the authorities. To date, we have yet to see any action taken against that individual.
‘In general, the response from social media platforms to these ongoing issues has been underwhelming. Their solutions, such as filters to simply hide the abuse may safeguard the players, but miss the mark entirely and do not discourage the offenders.
‘Without real consequences for those responsible, the cycle is doomed to repeat.
Toney made his England debut last year (Photo: Getty)
‘We do have faith that things can change. We appreciate the dialogue that we have with the likes of Meta but we call for more decisive and urgent action to combat online hate.
‘We call for prompt investigations, and importantly, we call for criminal prosecutions. We will continue to work with the authorities and the Premier League and to support our players as we tackle this awful online abuse.’
As their statement mentioned, this is hardly the first time Toney has been on the end of online hate, while this latest incident came soon after the striker made his return to the pitch after an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules.
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Considered one of the best goalscorers in the Premier League, the 27-year-old was handed his England debut last year and has a decent chance of playing at this summer’s Euro 2024 under Gareth Southgate.
His performances have earnt him great acclaim and he is a top target for some of the Premier League’s top sides including Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Toney and Brentford will be in action next on Saturday when they travel to Wolves.
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