Professional footballer Ivan Toney broke the Football Association (FA) rules on betting. Now the Brentford striker is expected to face a lengthy ban and suspension from the sport. In a disciplinary panel, he was charged with 232 alleged violations of the betting rules in November 2022, and a further 30 violations in the following month.
The 26-year-old has admitted to several of the allegations but is also contesting others. The alleged violations took place between February 25, 2017 and January 23, 2021, when the striker played for clubs Scunthorpe United, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United and current Brentford.
FA Rule E8 prohibits players from betting on games or sharing information for betting purposes. Toney is certainly not the first player in history to breach these rules, with England defender Kieran Trippier banned for 10 weeks by the FA in December 2020 for giving information to others to bet on his move from Tottenham Hotspur to Atlético Madrid Spain.
And in 2017, while playing for Burnley, Joey Barton was banned for 18 months – which was reduced to 13 on appeal – after the midfielder admitted to making 1,260 football-related bets over a 10-year period.
Ivan Toney has been one of the top players in the Premier League this season, with the forward scoring 14 goals in his 21 appearances, with only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane having scored more to date. His form has helped Brentford climb into the top half of the table, but that could all come crashing down if their main striker receives a lengthy suspension.
The English athlete will now answer for his actions and may appeal if the punishment is severe or too extensive. It is worth mentioning that cases like this are not exclusive to football, with several names from other sports already involved in actions of this type.
