North Tyneside man to be in court after footballer is racially abused

A North Tyneside man is due to appear in court after a Premier League footballer was racially abused on social media.

Northumbria Police, supported by the Metropolitan Police, launched a full investigation back in October 2022 after Brentford striker Ivan Toney shared via his Twitter account a picture of an abusive message that he had received online.

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.

Now, the man – aged 24 – has been served with a postal requisition to appear before magistrates in Newcastle later this 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 January 25.

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