Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been banned for eight months from football, and details about his misconduct have now been released
Ivan Toney is facing an eight-month ban from football after being found guilty of 232 betting-related charges, and the FA's independent Regulatory Commission has now released details further highlighting the extent of his sanctions.
Highlighting 50 bets in particular, the commission makes clear it didn't give any significance to the size of bets or the actual stake, while also indicating there wasn't a danger of match-fixing because Toney wasn't in a position to influence his own teams to lose.
However, while on loan at Wigan Athletic from Newcastle United in the 2017/18 season, Toney did place 13 bets on his own team to lose in seven different matches. 11 of those bets were related to Newcastle games, while the remaining two bets were placed on Wigan's match with Aston Villa that season when he wasn't part of the squad.
Ivan Toney bet on his own side to win – and on him to score
Ivan Toney is facing an eight-month ban for his betting activity (Image credit: PA)
On a further 16 occasions, Toney bet on his own team to win 15 different matches, with the 27-year-old playing in 11 of those games and an unused substitute in another.
He also made 15 bets or instructions to bet on himself scoring in nine different matches he featured in. The FA also highlighted an incident whereby Toney informed a friend he would be starting in Scunthorpe's next match, a 1-1 draw against Oxford United on March 30, 2018.
One issue raised during the hearing was that Toney didn't know at the time that his conduct amounted to a breach of the FA betting rules. Initially, in his first witness statement, Toney suggested he did not properly appreciate the rules until after he registered with Brentford in 2020.
“I do remember watching this video and at that point [at Brentford] I began to appreciate that there was an issue with the bets I had previously been placing on football matches," Toney said.
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However, the FA argued that Toney was aware he couldn't bet on football since at least when he was registered at Peterborough in the 2018/19 season. This is because he admitted to receiving education from about the rules against betting in a separate interview.
Tom Astley, betting integrity investigator, asked: "Can you remember when it was you first became aware that you can't bet on football."
Toney: "Yes, you guys used to come at Peterborough when I was there to say you can't bet on football."
In the written reasons provided by the independent commission, it has been revealed that during his first interview with the FA, Toney repeatedly reiterated, "I don't bet on football". He maintained that position in the second interview, too, with cross-examination rebuffing that claim.
When asked if he lied about his claim that he didn't bet on football, Toney replied, "yes".
The FA also provided evidence of Toney opening a betting account with William Hill on February 27, 2017, too, which was closed the same day. Four bets were made using the account, with the FA arguing Toney attempted to conceal his identity by using a false date of birth and mobile telephone number.
However, the commission didn't accept this submission because Toney opened the account in his own name, with his own bank details and giving the correct postcode.
Finally, psychiatric expert Dr Philip Hopley concluded, after two interviews with Toney, that he had a gambling addiction and needs professional help. While the FA challenged Hopley's conclusion, arguing Toney had "significant control" over his betting because there is no evidence of him placing bets in certain periods of time.
The commission also disregarded the FA's argument, suggesting the evidence is "well reasoned" and "highly persuasive".
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Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
