Ivan Toney’s fairytale story in English football continues gaining momentum.
From once toiling in the lower divisions of the English league pyramid, he’s now become one of the most prominent strikers in the Premier League.
Having received his first England national team call-up last month, the 26-year-old is oozing confidence.
He’s even a favourite to be selected by Gareth Southgate for his travelling squad for the Qatar World Cup.
Toney definitely did his World Cup chances a massive favour on Friday night, when he absolutely tormented Brighton & Hove Albion to give Brentford a major win.
The Englishman scored both of the goals in a 2-0 win, including an amazing backheel finish for his opening goal of the match.
While a large number of fans are delighted to see him continue to soar, there are some ugly, rotten ones that can’t seem to stand his happiness. Racism, of course, is still a massive issue in society and also quite clear among football supporters too.
Despite the Premier League’s Anti-Racism campaign and promotion of the Black Lives Matter campaign, there are still some who opt to spread hatred through social media.
On Saturday morning, the day after the win, Toney tweeted out how he was the victim of some shocking racism from a fan.
He posted a picture of him getting a DM from a man named Antonio Neill, doesn’t even appear to be a fan of Brighton.
The fan called him a ‘b**** c***’, but instead of ignoring it, Toney decided to expose him to showcase the kind of tirades players like him have to endure on a regular basis.
The anti-racism laws in place mean that the fan in question should be tracked down and detained by police for his awful actions.
While the majority keep calling for him to be punished, it appears that Instagram hasn’t even taken any action towards him.
A fan noticed that Neill’s profile on the social media platform was still up and running even after Toney had posted the tweet.
In reality, his account should be banned quickly and for the police to prosecute him for his horrible actions.
The English striker’s story makes him an inspiring figure and one you really want to root for.
A few seasons ago, he had a number of loan spells in League One (the third division of the English football pyramid) and played for the likes of Shrewsbury Town, Scunthorpe United and Peterborough United.
His rise only started when he helped Brentford secure qualification in the 2020/21 season – scoring 31 goals in the Championship!
He’s followed that up by scoring 20 goals in 43 Premier League appearances, being one of the highest-scoring English strikers over the last few campaigns.
But it seems like there are still some rotten people whose vision is so tinted by hatred that they can’t appreciate a person of colour enjoying success in football.
Toney, for one, is strong enough to not let this hinder his form – but supporters like these need prosecution to send a statement to others like him.
