A man who abused England star Ivan Toney on social media has been banned from every stadium in the country in a landmark ruling.
Antonio Neill, 24, sent the racist message to the Brentford striker on Oct. 14 last year. After Toney shared a picture of the abuse, Northumbria Police investigated along with officers from the Met. The message, which officers treated as a hate crime, was traced to a suspect who was then living on Tyneside.
Neill, of Robert Street, Blyth, Northumberland, pleaded guilty to sending an offensive message when he appeared before magistrates in Newcastle. On Monday, Neill was handed a four-month sentence suspended for two years for the online offence. He was also made the subject of a three-year football banning order, the first of its kind to be issued under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
