This week marks the Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign with all clubs in the top flight dedicating their matches to a strong message – there is no room for racism in football or our society.

The fight against racism in football is not only in our physical spaces. With the football community extending far beyond the pitch, racial abuse is now prominent on social media platforms.

Sadly, we have first-hand experience of this at Brentford. A number of our players have received racist abuse on social media, often from opposition fans and perpetrators aged under 18.

These comments have used inflammatory language for which there is no place for in our society. A win, a loss, a draw, a goal, a celebration – none of these normal parts of our game are an excuse for racist behaviour.

At Brentford we continue to receive reports of racism towards our players. In February last year, Ivan Toney received a number of racist messages to his Instagram account after our fixture with Arsenal.

This came not long after Antonio Neill's racist message to Toney led to a comprehensive investigation by Northumbria Police with the support of the Metropolitan Police. This case resulted in Neill receiving a four-month suspended sentence and a landmark three-year football banning order.

Of course, Brentford players are not the only footballers to received racism. There were 234 recorded incidents of online hate crime connected to football in the 2022/2023 season. Kick It Out received a record of 1,007 reports of discriminatory behaviour in the 2022-34 season.

They have also found that reports of online abuse have increased by a staggering 279 per cent from the season prior. The urgency to act is clear. This staggering increase demands our attention and action.

Real consequences: Behind a screen to behind bars

We’re all aware that we work better when united. Discrimination divides us and can have damaging effects on people’s mental health, even causing individuals to withdraw from their normal activities or society. Footballers aren’t immune to these feelings. They too are just doing their job, like many of us, and shouldn’t have to put up with racist abuse for it.

While social media is often thought of as a place where individuals can be anonymous, there are significant consequences for engaging in racist behaviour. Sanctions include custodial sentences as demonstrated by the case of racism against Toney as well as automatic club bans. It can have a significant effect on people’s livelihood, resulting in criminal records. Loss of employment, or educational opportunities are also very possible.

Those who risk sending racist abuse to others, put themselves at the risk of consequences. At Brentford, we have a zero-tolerance attitude to racial discrimination. Through our work with our specialist advisors, the police and the Premier League, we investigate any abusive messages and will support prosecutions to hold those responsible to account.

We will continue to speak out on this subject and we will seek the necessary the outcome for incidences of racism.

No tolerance for racism

The Premier League has committed a significant resource to taking action and supporting players and others connected to the game who face such abuse.

Fans can report incidents they see directly at premierleague.com/racism. The league has a specialist investigative team that continues to support players, their families and others working within football who are subjected to racism. Since 2020, 2,500+ incidents of online abuse have been investigated by the team.

At present, Brentford is investigating incidences of racism towards some of players with the support of the police. Again, these have been in the form of messages received online on social media platforms.

The fight against racism is a collective one, requiring the concerted efforts of clubs, fans, authorities and digital platforms. It’s something we all have a responsibility to act on.

Join us – every voice counts

Brentford FC is committed to this battle, and we encourage fans to join us by reporting racist abuse when they see it.

Our best chance of tackling discrimination is for us all to take an active stance in calling out abuse when we see it, whether that’s reporting it to the Premier League, Brentford or social media platforms.

In the fight against racism, every voice counts.

Join us.