Brentford striker Ivan Toney has accepted breaking Football Association betting rules and could face a long suspension. Toney, 26, was charged with 232 breaches in November and a further 30 in December. He accepted the charges before he was due to appear in front of a disciplinary panel.
The understanding is that Toney has admitted to many of the offences he has been charged with, however is contesting others.
FA rule E8 bans players from betting on games or sharing information for betting purposes. It is alleged that Toney breached this rule between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. The forward, who was called up to the England squad last September, has represented several clubs during this time, turning out for Scunthorpe United, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United and Brentford.
Toney started his career at Northampton Town. He came through the ranks to become the youngest player to represent the Cobblers upon making his debut in 2012. In 2015 he moved to Newcastle United and, after several loan spells left the club permanently to join Peterborough United in 2018. A successful spell with the Posh saw him move to Brentford in 2020 where his 31 goals in the Championship helped them to promotion.
He has, over the past season and a half, proved that he can score goals in the top flight, and has been a major factor in Brentford’s push for European qualification. Toney has scored 14 goals in 21 Premier League games this season, and any ban will put a huge dent in Brentford’s push for Europe.
A ban would also affect his chances of an England call up. He made the squad in the Autumn, however, he did not play and was left out for the World Cup Squad.
History points to a long ban if Toney is found guilty. In December 2020 the FA banned Newcastle United and England defender Kieran Trippier for 10 weeks for giving out information for others to bet on his transfer from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid.
In 2017, Joey Barton, then of Burnley, was hit with an 18 month ban, reduced to 13 on appeal, after admitting placing 1,260 football-related bets over a period of 10 years.
