Win, lose or draw, at Luton Town we will always stand by our players.

As a club, we share their agony and the ecstasy. The highs and lows. The good and the bad. On and off the pitch. Always.

Anyone who pulls on our shirt does so in the knowledge we will have their back. Always.

And it’s why we’re making this statement. Friday night’s game, Teden Mengi received racist messages on Instagram.

Think about that for a second: someone, somewhere, opened their phone, searched for his name, and chose to send hate.

In that moment, they didn’t see a young man doing his best. Instead, they saw only colour and chose words, phrases and emojis that, sadly, still filter through into the social media inboxes of our players.

Season after season, our players send us the sick screenshots. We report. We wait.

Last week, we – finally – saw progress after Elijah Adebayo was the target 12 months ago following a game against Sunderland.

We can’t share details yet, as the legal case for one solitary message among several Eli received that particular week is ongoing.

But it proves the process is working – even if it is frustratingly slow-going, and only available if messages are sent from within the UK.

Many come from overseas and cannot be pursued, and we should stress that there is no indication that this latest one has come from anyone purporting to support the Hatters or Forest Green.

We will continue to fight for our colleagues and today, we stand with Teden, and every player and every person who has been the victim of racism.

It has no place in our game and in our world.

Please join us in sending Teden our support, love and strength.

Here’s to you, Ted.

This is a game that racists simply aren’t going to win.