The defendant, Antonio Neill, 24 of Blyth, Northumberland, appeared in Newcastle Magistrates Court on Wednesday admitting to, and apologising for, sending an offensive message to Ivan Toney on Instagram in October 2022.

Police launched an investigation after Toney shared the abusive message on Twitter. The incident has since been treated as a hate crime and was traced to Neill.  

District Judge, Paul Currer said: “Given the aggravating feature of the racially-motivated insult, which is exceptionally offensive, I do regard it as a very serious offence.” 

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 case has been adjourned until 30 March.