Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been charged with a mammoth 232 counts of breaking FA betting regulations, a spokesperson for the Football Association has announced.
The 26-year-old was included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the September internationals, but didn’t feature across either Nations League clash and was dropped from the World Cup 26-man squad named last week, with Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson taking his spot.
It came following the news that he was under investigation by the FA for bets made during his time at Brentford, broken by the Daily Mail.
And, though Toney moved to quieten the noise, it has since been confirmed, with the FA announcing that he has now been charged with misconduct, and has until November 24th to respond.
In an official statement, they wrote:
“Ivan Toney has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of The FA’s betting rules”.
Rule E8 of the FA rulebook states that:
“A Participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in or in connection with, a football match or competition or any other matter concerning or related to football anywhere in the world, including, for example and without limitation, the transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or disciplinary matters.”
Brentford revealed that “the Club has been in discussion with Ivan and his legal representatives about this matter and those conversations will continue privately”, but that “we will make no further comment until the matter has been completed”.
It is as of yet unclear what the punishment could be for the Englishman, though Kieran Trippier received a 10 week ban for just a single breach when he advised his friends about his potential move to Atletico Madrid, while Daniel Sturridge was handed a four-month ban over a potential move to Sevilla.
