Brentford marked the return of the Premier League following the World Cup break with the early match against Tottenham Hotspur on December 26.
Starting for the home side was Ivan Toney, the 26-year-old striker who has been charged with breaking Football Association rules regarding betting.
Toney, who has until January 4 to respond to the most recent charges, is allowed to play for his club while the investigation continues and scored his side’s second goal during the second half of the match against Spurs.
Should the player be found guilty of breaching regulations, he could face a ban.
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Ivan Toney betting allegations
On November 17, the FA announced that Toney had been charged with 232 counts of allegedly breaching betting rules. The charges related to a four-year period between February 2017 and January 2021.
After an earlier report in the Daily Mail revealed he was the subject of an FA investigation, Toney issued a statement via Twitter, saying: “I’m aware of a story about me in a national newspaper today. I have been assisting the Football Association with their enquiries and will not be making any comment until such investigation has reached its conclusion.
“I am a proud Englishman and it has always been my childhood dream to play for my country at a World Cup finals.”
— Ivan Toney (@ivantoney24) November 5, 2022
On December 22, the FA confirmed Toney had been charged with a further 30 alleged breaches of betting rules. These charges related to the period between March 14, 2017 and February 18, 2019.
After the latest charges were made public, Brentford said in a statement: “Our private discussions with Ivan and his legal representatives on this matter continue. We will make no further comment at this stage.”
Toney was a Newcastle United player in February 2017, although he was on loan at Scunthorpe United in League One, the third level of England’s professional leagues. He later played for Wigan Athletic and Scunthorpe for a second time before joining Peterborough United in 2018 on a permanent deal. He was signed by Brentford in August 2020, helping them to achieve promotion to the Premier League in his first season.
FA betting rules: What is Ivan Toney accused of doing?
Toney was charged with 262 breaches of FA rule E8, which is a rather thorough piece of legislation that covers betting rules for people involved in professional football.
It is not known yet exactly which aspects of rule E8 Toney is alleged to have broken. The FA investigation is likely to be a long process as Toney will have the right to respond to each of the alleged rule breaches individually.
What are betting rules in football?
The English FA has extensive rules relating to betting in football when it comes to those who work in the industry. In the governing body’s own words, these rules “apply to everyone involved in football, from the players and managers, to the match officials and club staff”.
The FA says: “A worldwide ban on betting on football was introduced for all those involved in the game at Premier League, English Football League, National League and The FA Women’s Super League and The FA Women’s Championship levels, as well as those at clubs in the Northern, Southern and Isthmian leagues and all other Participants who do not fall into the category below.
Participants covered by the ban will be prohibited from betting, either directly or indirectly, on any football match or competition that takes place anywhere in the world.
“This also includes a worldwide ban on betting on any other football-related matter. For example, the transfer of players, employment of managers or team selection. The passing of inside information to somebody that uses the information for betting remains prohibited.”
‘Inside information’ is defined as “information that you are aware of due to your position in the game and which is not publicly available — for example, this may be injury or team selection news”.
Such information cannot be used by participants in football to place a bet or instruct someone else to do so on the participant’s behalf. It is also prohibited for inside information to be passed on to someone else for the purposes of betting, although individuals can be in breach of the rules even if they did not know the inside information they passed on would be used for a bet.
Could Ivan Toney be banned?
According to Sky Sports, Toney could face a ban of at least six months if the investigation finds he placed a bet on his own team.
Notable players banned for betting offences
There are previous examples of high-profile footballers being punished for breaching FA betting rules.
Newcastle United and England right-back Kieran Trippier was banned for 10 weeks and fined £70,000 ($95,000) after he was found guilty of encouraging a friend to place a bet on him signing for Atletico Madrid, the club he joined from Tottenham Hotspur in 2019. Trippier, who denied the allegation, had an appeal rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and did not play in La Liga between January 12 and March 7, 2021.
In March 2020, former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge was banned for four months and fined £150,000 ($180,000) after an investigation found he had passed on inside information relating to a possible transfer. The striker, who saw his contract with Trabzonspor cancelled, said: “I just want to say it’s been a very long and drawn-out process over the last couple of years and difficult to concentrate on my football.
“I’m going to continue to campaign for professional footballers to be able to speak to their families and close friends freely, without the real risk of being charged. I feel the betting companies and the practice and process of people placing bets on players moving clubs has to be stopped.”
Joey Barton, formerly of Newcastle and Manchester City, was given an 18-month ban in 2017 after an investigation found he had placed more than 1,200 bets on football between 2006 and 2016. Although the suspension was later reduced on appeal, it effectively hastened his retirement from his playing career.
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Does Ivan Toney play for England?
Toney was called up to the England squad for the first time in September 2022 for UEFA Nations League matches against Italy and Germany. He was an unused substitute for the 3-3 draw with Hansi Flick’s side at Wembley Stadium on September 26.
Having scored 10 goals in 13 Premier League games prior to the break for the Qatar World Cup, Toney was tipped to be named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the tournament, but he was not selected.
Ivan Toney height, stats for Brentford
Ivan Toney is 1.79 metres tall (approximately 5 feet, 10 inches).
With 11 goals and two assists in 15 Premier League appearances in 2022/23, Toney has been by far Brentford’s most dangerous attacking player. Indeed, only Harry Kane (14) and Erling Haaland (21) have recorded more goals and assists combined this season.
Overall, Toney has scored 58 goals in 105 league games for Brentford in the Championship and Premier League.
