North Tyneside man to appear in court after Brentford's Ivan Toney receives racist abuse online

A man is to appear in court in connection with the alleged racial abuse of Premier League footballer Ivan Toney.

In October 2022, the Brentford striker posted on Twitter a screenshot of an abusive message sent to him via the social media site Instagram.

The message, which officers are treating as a hate crime, was traced to a suspect living in the North Shields area.

He was subsequently located and interviewed under caution in connection with the offence.

On Thursday 13 January 2022, Northumbria Police said the 24-year-old has been served with a postal requisition to appear before magistrates in Newcastle later in the month.

There he will be formally charged with sending a message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.

Superintendent Scott Cowie, hate crime lead for Northumbria Police, said: "There is absolutely no place for discrimination of any kind in society – whether that’s within our communities or online.

"Hate crime in any form is totally unacceptable, and as a Force, we are committed to taking appropriate action against anybody found to be spreading this type of abuse.

"We would like to thank the victim for his support and cooperation throughout this case, as well as our colleagues in the Metropolitan Police who assisted our enquiries.

"Anyone who receives online abuse or believes they have been a victim of a hate crime is asked to always report it, so it can be fully investigated.

"We’d also ask members of the public who see, read or hear any offensive, racist or homophobic language at fixtures or online to get in touch with us."

The suspect is due to appear at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on 25 January.

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