Brentford's England international center forward Ivan Toney faces charges for allegedly breaching 30 additional FA betting rules..

2022-12-21 17:58

Brentford




The Athletic reported on Tuesday that Brentford's England international center forward Ivan Toney has been charged by the English Football Association (FA) for allegedly breaching and participating in another 30 betting activities between March 2017 and February 2019.


According to the official statement of the FA, including these charges of 30 alleged additional betting activities, the total number of suspected cases Toney allegedly involved has reached 262. Such a number has seriously violated the E8 clause of the FA rules, which prohibits any player from participating in betting and gambling activities. The authorities have notified Toney himself of his allegations and ordered him to make respond before January 4, 2023 local time.


At the same time, Brentford, where Toney plays for, also confirmed the matter through the club's official website afterwards.


Brentford said in an official statement that the club has been notified by the FA on the matter, and the Premier League club is preparing to appoint a representative to discuss the matter privately with Toney and his legal team.


In addition, Brentford also stated that the club will respond to this matter at an appropriate time.



There had already been signs of something wrong going on


In fact, as early as November 6, 2022 local time, Toney had already been summoned by the English Football Association (FA) for investigation due to the same allegations.


At the time, the FA stated that Toney himself had allegedly been involved in betting activities when he was still playing for a lower league club in England before transferring to Brentford.


The FA has even conducted a 7-month investigation on the matter, but so far, the authorities have not found conclusive evidence, hence Toney himself has not yet been formally sentenced.


Regarding his involvement in the suspected betting and gambling activities, after the incident was exposed, trying to prove his innocence, Toney posted a post on his personal official Twitter account on the same night local time that: "I've saw some allegations on national newspapers today. I've seen some of the allegations made against me and I've been working hand in hand with the FA's investigation into me. I won't say anything until the results of the investigation are concluded. I'm proud to be British and being part of the national team for the World Cup is my goal. It's been a dream of mine since childhood."


Coincidentally, with the news that Toney violated the rules and was alleged to have participated in betting and gambling activities, he had indeed lost the opportunity to play with the England national team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.



Strictly crack down on active players engaging in betting activities


The FA has always been particularly harsh on cracking down on allegations of football players involved in gambling activities.


According to the regulations of the FA, all players in the Premier League, EFL leagues, non-leagues and Women's Super League, as well as the England women's national team are prohibited from participating in any form of betting activities.


The regulations clearly read: "Participants covered by the ban will be prohibited from betting directly or indirectly on any football championship or any game or event held anywhere in the world, which also includes a global prohibition on any other football-related betting matters. For example, player transfers, manager appointments or club/team options. It also prohibits anyone from passing on inside information to people who use it to place bets.”


In the past, Newcastle United's Kieran Trippier and former Liverpool center forward Daniel Sturridge have also been banned for 10 weeks for alleged gambling, and the latter was even sacked by his former club Trabzonspor for this, then when he went to Australia to join A-League side Perth Glory, it also ended in a termination of contract. Since then, he has not really had a platform to prove himself as a professional football player ever again.



Restart his career and regain his popularity from the bottom


The 26-year-old Toney came through the Newcastle United youth academy. However, as early as that time, he had already been given up by the Magpies due to his poor discipline, and was then sold to the lower league club Peterborough United.


Toney joined Brentford for £5million in the summer of 2020 and scored 33 goals in his first season, helping the Bees to be promoted to the Premier League as the EFL Championship play-off winners.


Last season, Toney scored 12 goals in the Premier League. So far this season, he has played 16 times for Brentford in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and assisting 3 times.


Due to his good form, Toney was once called up by England national team coach head Gareth Southgate to the Three Lions' UEFA Nations League group stage squad in September this year. But so far, he has not officially played for England yet.