Brentford ‘disgusted’ after Ivan Toney subject to racist abuse on Instagram after scoring against Arsenal

Brentford are “disgusted and saddened” after Ivan Toney was sent racist abuse on social media following his equaliser at Arsenal.

Toney struck at the Emirates on Saturday in the 1-1 draw and the Bees have since confirmed their player “received a barrage of abusive, racist direct messages.”

Toney was racially abused last October on Twitter by a 24-year-old man, who is set to return to court in March for sentencing following "an exceptionally offensive message" which had "racial overtones".

A club statement on Sunday read: “Immediately after Brentford’s game against Arsenal, Ivan Toney received a barrage of abusive, racist direct messages via his Instagram account. We are disgusted and saddened that Ivan has had to deal with this yet again.

“We will not tolerate it and we will do everything we can to pursue the individuals involved. Ivan was subject to similar abuse in October last year, and the perpetrator is now facing the consequences in court. How many times does this need to happen?

“We call on football fans everywhere to relish the competition and rivalry that exists between us, but to respect and embrace our differences and celebrate the diversity that exists throughout the Premier League. There is no room for racism.”

Toney posted a screenshot of the message last October, adding: “I wasn’t even going to post this but I woke up angry…”