Brentford have revealed striker Ivan Toney was once again subjected to racist abuse on social media after his equaliser against Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday. Toney’s goal – which should have been ruled out by VAR for offside against Christian Nørgaard, who set him up – secured a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, denting the Gunners’ title charge and prompting a vile online reaction. A post on the Bees’ official Twitter account on Sunday said: “Immediately after Brentford’s game against Arsenal, Ivan Toney received a barrage of abusive, racist direct messages via his Instagram account. We are disgusted and saddened that Ivan has had to deal with this yet again.” The Premier League condemned the latest attack on Toney – who suffered similar abuse in October – and vowed to support the player and his club. A statement on the governing body’s official Twitter account said: “No one should have to face abuse of the kind received by Ivan Toney. It has no place in football or society. We are supporting Ivan and the club with investigations. The Premier League condemns all forms of discrimination. Football is for everyone.” Toney’s strike – along with Pervis Estupiñán’s goal for Brighton which was wrongly ruled out for offside in their 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace – have proved talking points through the weekend with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited now accepting both were wrong calls. The referees chief, Howard Webb, has contacted Arsenal and Brighton to explain “significant errors” in the VAR process during their matches on Saturday which were “due to human error”. A statement read: “PGMOL can confirm its Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has contacted both Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in the VAR process in their respective Premier League fixtures on Saturday. “Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed by PGMOL.” Keith Hackett has called for the VAR official Lee Mason to be sacked for failing to rule out Toney’s equaliser. The former Premier League referee said in a Twitter post: “Howard Webb is now in charge of the PGMOL. One of the first things he should do is dismiss permanent VAR operator Lee Mason. “This weekend, Mason lets another referee down by not disallowing the Brentford goal for offside. These are decisions that VAR should get right.”
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