Brentford striker Ivan Toney is set for a long time on the sidelines after admitting to over 200 betting breaches following his charges from the FA.
The England international’s transgressions surfaced just ahead of Gareth Southgate naming his 26 man England squad for the 2022 World Cup, which the in-form striker narrowly missed out on.
Toney has been a key part of Brentford’s success this campaign, scoring 14 goals in 21 Premier League games as the Bees find themselves in a surprise race for European football next season.
As it stands, Thomas Frank’s side sit 9th, a point behind Liverpool and four points behind Fulham, who currently occupy 6th place and a Europa League spot. However, Toney has since accepted many of the charges levelled at him, which threatens to derail their season.
As per BBC Sport, ‘the alleged breaches took place between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021, during which time Toney represented Scunthorpe United, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United and Brentford’.
And Sky Sports add that ‘Toney could be banned for at least six months’, but that ‘it is in Brentford’s interests that Toney be banned as soon as possible so that he can return without missing too much of next season’.
In similar high profile cases, Kieran Trippier received a 10 week ban for four alleged breaches surrounding his move to Atletico Madrid, while Daniel Sturridge was banned for four months after allegedly telling his brother to bet on a potential move to Spanish side Sevilla in 2018.
With the sheer number of charges in mind, and the precedent set before, Toney may well be absent for much of the rest of 2023.
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