Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney has been given an eight-month ban from all footballing activity after being found guilty of breaking FA rules regarding betting.
The 27-year-old forward has also been given a fine of £50,000 ($62,000) and warned over his future conduct following a personal hearing.
The FA confirmed that Toney had been charged with 262 breaches of Rule E8, which concerns betting regulations for those who work in professional football. The offences were said to have occurred between February 25, 2017 and January 23, 2021. Toney admitted to 232 of the charges and the other 30 were withdrawn, the FA said.
Toney, who has scored 20 goals in 33 Premier League matches for Brentford in 2022/23, will be unable to play for club or country until after January 16, 2024. He will, however, be permitted to train with his club from September 17 this year.
MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fuboTV in Canada
Ivan Toney betting ban: What were the allegations?
On November 17, 2022, 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 on the eve of the World Cup confirming the situation: “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 charged Toney 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.”
The FA confirmed on May 17, 2023 that Toney would be banned from football for eight months, a sanction imposed by an independent regulatory commission. The statement from the governing body said the commission’s written reasons behind Toney’s punishment would be published “in due course”, at which point it will become clearer exactly how the player was deemed to have broken betting rules.
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. He scored 14 goals in all competitions in 2021/22 and has comfortably surpassed that total in 2022/23. His contract with the Bees runs through June 2025.
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. The FA said 30 of those charges were withdrawn, and that Toney admitted to the remaining 232.
It is not known yet exactly which aspects of rule E8 Toney is alleged to have broken. That is likely to become clearer when the independent commission, which handed down the punishment to the player, publishes its written reasons.
What has Ivan Toney said?
Following claims made by The Daily Mail that Toney was pleading guilty to some of the charges and could begin a ban from football before the end of the season, the striker published a statement via Instagram.
He said: “I was shocked and disappointed to see press speculation yesterday and today about the FA investigation process concerning me after I have been told by the FA that it is a confidential process until any decision has been made.
“It is especially disturbing for me to read that the FA is saying I shall be banned from football for six months before there has even been a hearing, and it does make me worried about the process. My lawyers will be writing to the FA to request that they conduct a leak enquiry, as this is the second time stories have appeared in the newspapers — the last time was just before the selection of the England World Cup squad. As I continue to be told the investigation is meant to be confidential, I am unable to provide any further comment, and shall continue to concentrate on my football.”
Toney has not yet responded to his punishment, but Brentford issued a brief statement saying: “Brentford FC notes the decision of an independent Regulatory Commission to issue an eight-month ban from all football and football-related activity to Ivan Toney with immediate effect.
“Ivan was charged with breaches of FA rule E8 and had a personal hearing earlier this week.
“Brentford FC is currently awaiting the publication of the written reasons of the independent Regulatory Commission. We will review them before considering our next steps.”
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.
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.
MORE: Premier League Golden Boot rankings 2022/23
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.
Toney appeared as a substitute in England’s 2-0 win over Ukraine in Euro 2024 qualifying in March.
Ivan Toney height, stats for Brentford
Ivan Toney is 1.79 metres tall (approximately 5 feet, 10 inches).
With 20 goals and four assists in 33 Premier League appearances in 2022/23, Toney has been by far Brentford’s most dangerous attacking player. Only Harry Kane (27) and Erling Haaland (36) have scored more.
Overall, Toney has scored 65 goals in 114 league games for Brentford in the Championship and Premier League.
Ivan Toney transfer rumours: Will ban prevent summer move?
Toney has regularly been linked with a possible big-money move in the next transfer window.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank said his club needed to be “prepared” for the prospect of losing some of their best players, but he suggested it could take a nine-figure sum to prise Toney away from West London.
Asked how much Toney would be worth, Frank replied: “100 million plus? I love Ivan and it’s fantastic what he has achieved here, and there is more for him to achieve here. I’m really happy he is a Brentford player.
“I know he is not 22, but look at some of the best strikers in the world: [Robert] Lewandowski, [Karim] Benzema. It’s like good wine: they just keep getting better.
“What would you pay for a striker that guarantees you 20-plus goals? And this is 20 goals for a mid-table club. What can he do in a bigger club?”
Tottenham have been linked with a possible move for Toney, particularly with uncertainty over the futures of Harry Kane and Richarlison, while Chelsea have also been tipped as suitors as incoming head coach Mauricio Pochettino is said to be keen to sign a striker. Arsenal and Manchester United have also been mentioned.
However, any interested parties are likely to be put off pursuing a deal for Toney knowing that he would be unavailable for the first half of next season.