Euro 2024: Racism won’t stop me from taking penalties – Ivan Toney

Ivan Toney says recent incidents of racist abuse against England players will not stop him from taking a penalty if necessary at Euro 2024.

Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were targeted after missing penalties as England lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy at Wembley, with 11 people arrested afterwards.

Manager Gareth Southgate admitted in June 2022 that, given the possible repercussions for black players, the task of improving England’s terrible record in penalty shootouts had become “another challenge”.

The Three Lions have been knocked out of seven tournaments after penalty shootout defeats, with captain Harry Kane missing a penalty in regulation time to see England lose 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Toney has scored 31 of Brentford’s last 32 penalties and when asked on Wednesday whether the experience of Saka, Rashford and Sancho would stop him taking a penalty if needed, he said: “I’m a confident person. If I score, I score. If I miss, I miss. We have to try and have the courage to take a penalty. Whatever happens, happens. Those who racially abuse a player for missing a penalty or doing something wrong are even more deceived.

“I think (that confidence) is in you, in the people around you. The manager has confidence in you. Everyone around you, really.”

Last Saturday, the Press Association reported that the UK’s football policing unit had received almost 600 reports of online abuse against England players since the start of Euro 2024.

Toney is also no stranger to suffering online abuse. In March 2023, a man was handed a three-year nationwide stadium ban after racistly abusing Toney, and in February this year, Brentford condemned further “disgusting harassment” that the 28-year-old suffered twice in four weeks.

All 26 players took part in training on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final with Switzerland in Dusseldorf, with Luke Shaw looking to make himself available as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him since February.

An ESPN source told The Sun that England have been experimenting with a three-man defence in training, but it is not yet known whether Southgate will decide to move away from the 4-2-3-1 system used in the first four matches.