Breaking the rules once is bad. “But why stop there,” you could imagine Ivan Toney saying, probably, because he breached FA rules 262 times when it came to sports betting. This resulted in the Brentford striker being suspended from all team activities for the next eight months — less than one day per breach.
Toney’s 262 breaches took place between February 2017 and January 2021, because not even the pandemic could stop the now-former England international from betting on sports! ESPN reported in March Toney admitted in front of the FA’s disciplinary panel to wrongdoing. The FA withdrew 30 of the breaches while Toney admitted to the 232 others.
Toney not only bet on games while in the Premier League with Brentford, but also as a member of Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United, and Scunthorpe United.
Before being disciplined by the FA, the 27-year-old Toney was in consideration to represent England at last year’s World Cup and made his debut for the Three Lions against Ukraine in a qualifying match for Euro 2024 this past March. Toney has 21 goals this season for Brentford and will now have a long wait before he can get back on the pitch. Toney’s suspension comes about a week after around a dozen players were suspended in Brazil and the United States for match-fixing.
Toney’s statement
“Today I have received notification of my eight-month ban from football following a hearing before an FA Regulatory Commission that took place yesterday,” he said. “I am naturally disappointed that I will be unable to play for the next eight months. The written reasons for the Commission’s decision have not yet been published, so I make no further comment at this point other than to thank my family and friends, Brentford Football Club, and our fans for their continued support, through what has been a very difficult time.”
Brentford FC also released a statement.
