An online troll who racially abused Premier League star Ivan Toney has been banned from every UK football ground in a landmark ruling.
Antonio Neill, 24, called the England and Brentford striker a “black c***” in a sick racist message he posted on his own Facebook page on October 14, 2022. Police launched an investigation after the footballer shared an image of the abusive message on his Twitter account.
Officers treated the incident as a hate crime and traced the message to an address in North Shields, North Tyneside.
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In January, Neill, of Robert Street, Blyth, pleaded guilty to sending an offensive message at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court. District Judge Paul Currer said the message was “exceptionally offensive” and had “racial overtones”.
On Monday (March 13) Neill was handed a four-month sentence suspended for two years. He was also slapped with a three-year football banning order meaning he is barred from every stadium in the UK until March 2026.
It is the first order of its kind to be issued to a football fan under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Superintendent Scott Cowie, hate crime lead for Northumbria Police, said: “Discrimination has absolutely no place in any society, whether out in our communities or online. I am therefore delighted that the seriousness of Neill’s offence has been reflected with this banning order, the first of its kind to be issued in the UK.
“I hope this reinforces our commitment to taking action against anybody who commits a hate crime – it will not be tolerated and we will do all we can to put perpetrators before the courts. I would like to thank everyone who played their part in this particular case, including the team of officers who worked tirelessly to secure justice as well as our colleagues at the Metropolitan Police, the UK Football Policing Unit and the Premier League.”
The order bans Neill from attending any regulated football match in the UK, which includes Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two and National League fixtures, as well as England home internationals. It also prevents him from travelling abroad to watch international friendlies, qualification matches and tournaments.
Following the hearing, a Brentford Football Club spokesperson said: "Brentford FC is pleased to see the Antonio Neill case resolved and that Northumbria Police pursued this to a conclusion. Court appearances set a strong precedent for anyone else who commits hate crimes and it is our hope that sentences increase in severity until this sort of crime is eradicated.
"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. 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.
"All authorities have their role to play in this and we, again, call upon the social media companies to make their platforms safe for all participants and to remove all hateful content."
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