Brentford star Ivan Toney target of more racial abuse online،
Brentford striker Ivan Toney has once again been the victim of racist abuse on social media, the club announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, the club said it was “angry and frustrated” at the abuse and stressed it was not the first time Toney had been targeted.
“We are angry and frustrated to report that Ivan Toney has once again been the victim of racist abuse on Instagram,” the statement read.
“We have opened investigations into this despicable harassment which we condemn in the strongest terms.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time Ivan has encountered this. A similar incident occurred just four weeks ago, which allowed us to identify an alleged perpetrator who we reported to the authorities.
“To date, we have yet to see any action taken against this individual.”
A man was handed a three-year stadium ban in March last year after abusing Toney on social media. The 27-year-old has also been targeted on other occasions.
Brentford criticized media companies on Wednesday for their lack of action.
“In general, the response from social media platforms to these ongoing issues has been disappointing,” the club said.
“Their solutions, such as filters intended simply to mask abuse, may protect players, but completely miss the point and do little to deter violators. Without real consequences for those responsible, the cycle is doomed to repeat itself.
“We are convinced that things can change. We value the dialogue we have with Meta, but we call for more decisive and urgent action to combat online hate. We call for rapid investigations and, above all, criminal prosecution.
“We will continue to work with the authorities and the Premier League and support our players in tackling this terrible online abuse.”
Toney recently returned from an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules, but Brentford manager Thomas Frank has confirmed the England international's future likely lies elsewhere.
“It is relatively obvious that Ivan Toney will probably be sold this summer,” Frank told Danish magazine Tipsbladet.
“It can be 'expensive' to sell your best player, but conversely, I also know that this summer he only has one year left on his contract with us.
“We also know what he's worth. I don't think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him at the moment.”
Toney himself said he planned to play for a “better club” in the future, but Frank confirmed Brentford had not received any offers in January.
“This winter we haven't had any offers for him, but it would surprise me if there aren't many clubs who will be interested in him,” Frank said.
He is a very talented striker who is in his prime of football. Personally, as a coach, I would prefer to keep Toney, but one day it might be fun to see him in a top team .”
