An online troll who abused Brentford star Ivan Toney online has been banned from every ground in the UK as part of a landmark ruling. 

Toney was sent the message on 14th October by Antonio Neill, 24, of Robert Street in Blyth, in which he called the striker a "black c***". 

Police launched an investigation and treated the incident as a hate crime and after pleading guilty on 25th January, Neill has now been banned from all football grounds until March 2026 and has been handed a four-month jail sentence suspended for two years. 

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." 

This order means that Neill will not be able to watch any match in the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, National League, and England home internationals, and the banning order also precludes him from travelling abroad. 

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: "Online racism has been traced back to our region and officers have made it more than clear our region won't tolerate it. 

"If you are going to choose to be vile and abusive to others, doing it from behind a computer screen or on your phone doesn't mean you'll get away with it, far from it." 

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."