Man who racially abused Brentford striker Ivan Toney given "landmark" banning order

A man who racially abused Brentford striker Ivan Toney via Instagram has been banned from every football stadium in the UK for a period of three years in a "landmark ruling". 

Ivan Toney received the message after scoring twice against Brighton, sharing a picture of the abuse via his social media channels. 

Police were then able to pinpoint the whereabouts of the sender to the Northern English town of Blythe. The man pleaded guilty to a magistrates court in Newcastle on 25 January. 

In addition to the three-year banning order, he has been given a four-month suspended sentence at the same court. 

Brentford Football Club has called upon social media platforms to "make their platforms safe for all participants and to remove all hateful content".

"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," a club statement read.

"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."