Ivan Toney could face long ban after being charged for 232 betting breaches

Brentford striker Ivan Toney is facing a lengthy ban after the Football Association charged him with 232 breaches of its betting rules.

The 26-year-old, who has been given until next Thursday to respond to the charge, is alleged to have made more than 200 bets over a period of nearly four years between Feb 2017 and Jan 2021.

If banned, Toney could miss a large portion of the remainder of the season, which would come as a huge blow to Brentford’s plans. The striker has scored 10 league goals this season, second only to Erling Haaland’s 18 and Harry Kane’s 12.

A statement from the FA read: “Ivan Toney has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of the FA’s Betting Rules.

“It is alleged that the Brentford FC forward breach FA Rule E8 232 times between Feb 25, 2017, and Jan 23, 2021. Ivan Toney has until Thursday Nov 24, 2022 to provide a response.”

Toney was a notable omission from the England squad last Thursday ahead of the Qatar World Cup, but manager Gareth Southgate insisted his absence was not due to the ongoing investigation into alleged betting breaches.

“I’ve not had that conversation because he wasn’t in our squad,” Southgate said last week after announcing his squad.

“For us, September was a good opportunity to have a look at Ivan on the training pitch, to learn a bit more about him, for him to see how we work. We knew and had discussed with him it was a long shot to be involved at this time in a World Cup.

“We’ve tracked all the players since. We think Callum’s [Wilson] just in that really rich vein of form and has been with us a little bit more, been on the pitch with us, we know him a little bit better.”

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