Brentford denounced today that their striker Ivan Toney has been the victim of racist insults on social networks after scoring the goal on Saturday that prevented Arsenal’s victory at the Emirates (1-1). After the draw, the Gunners saw their lead in the Premier League reduced to three points as Manchester City, second in the table, defeated Aston Villa (3-1) today.
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“Immediately after Brentford’s match against Arsenal, Ivan Toney received a barrage of abusive and racist direct messages via his Instagram account,” Brentford reported. “We are disgusted and saddened that Ivan has had to deal with this once again.”
Arsenal offer their support to Toney
Immediately afterwards, Arsenal, despite the controversial goal that harmed their interests, offered their support to Toney and revealed that they are working with Brentford to identify the authors of the messages. “At Arsenal we condemn all forms of discrimination and take a zero tolerance approach. We will apply the harshest possible measure to anyone we can identify sending hate messages.”
For its part, the Premier League reacted with another statement in which it “condemns all forms of discrimination. No one should have to face abuse like the one Ivan Toney received. This has no place in football or in society. We are supporting Ivan and the club in the investigations.”
Toney has already been attacked after a game against Brighton last October and shared screenshots of an Instagram direct message containing racist language.
