Brentford have condemned the “disgusting, racist abuse” faced by striker Ivan Toney after his two goals in Friday’s 2-0 win over Brighton.
Toney posted a screenshot of a direct message he received on Instagram and wrote on Twitter: “I wasn’t even going to post this but I woke up angry”.
In a statement, the Bees said it condemned the discrimination in the “strongest possible terms”.
“An attack on one of our players is an attack on all of us,” the club said.
“Ivan will receive the full backing from the club and from the Brentford fans who we have already seen condemning the abuse.
“We expect strong support from the police, legal authorities and from Instagram’s parent company, Meta, to ensure that the individual involved faces the full force of the law for this despicable hate crime.”
Brentford added that all relevant authorities had been informed, including the police.
In May, Toney and team-mate Rico Henry said their families were racially abused at Goodison Park after Brentford’s 3-2 win over Everton last season.
Toney, 27, scored either side of the break, including a second-half penalty, as Brentford returned to winning ways against Brighton.
He was called into the England squad for September’s Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany but was not used by Gareth Southgate.
