Ivan Toney faces long ban after being charged for 232 betting breaches

Ivan Toney is facing a lengthy ban after being charged with 232 breaches of Football Association betting rules.

The Brentford striker, who last week controversially missed out on selection for England’s World Cup squad, stands accused of placing scores of bets over a period of nearly four years between Feb 2017 and Jan 2021.

He has been given until next Thursday to respond to a charge that could see him hit with a months-long ban.

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 breached 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.”

Brentford added: “The club has been in discussion with Ivan and his legal representatives about this matter and those conversations will continue privately.

“We will make no further comment until the matter has been completed.”

Any ban would be a huge blow to his club, for whom he has scored 10 Premier League goals this season, behind only Erling Haaland’s 18 and Harry Kane’s 12.

They included a match-winning double in Brentford’s shock 2-1 win at Manchester City on Saturday two days after he was left out of England’s World Cup squad.

That squad was named less than five days after news Toney was under investigation for alleged betting rule breaches first emerged but manager Gareth Southgate denied it played a part in Callum Wilson being picked ahead of him.

“I’ve not had that conversation because he wasn’t in our squad,” Southgate said last week of Toney, who earned his maiden call-up two months earlier.

“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 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.”

Speaking about the FA investigation before the England squad was named, Toney said: “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.”

Current, former and future England players have previously fallen foul of FA betting rules, most recently Kieran Trippier, who was banned for 10 weeks and fined £70,000 for offences relating to inside information.

Daniel Sturridge was banned for four months and fined £150,000 for similar offences, while Andros Townsend served a one-month ban – with three further months suspended – and fined £18,000 for placing an unspecified number of bets on matches.

Five years ago, Joey Barton was banned for 18 months and fined £30,000 for placing 1,260 bets on games.