Ivan Toney faces uncertain future after admitting to multiple charges of breaching FA gambling rules

Ivan Toney has admitted multiple charges of breaching the Football Association’s gambling rules, but is contesting others, with a potential ban looming before the end of the campaign.

Toney was charged in November with 232 alleged breaches of betting rules, and was then hit with a further 30 alleged breaches a month later. 

It is understood that the 26-year-old has now admitted to many of those 262 charges but not all of them, with the disciplinary process set to ramp up in the coming weeks.

Toney’s alleged breaches of the FA’s gambling rules took place between February 2017 and January 2021. During that time he represented four clubs: Scunthorpe United, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United and Brentford.

It remains to be seen whether the situation will have any impact on Toney’s chances of being selected by England for their upcoming matches against Italy and Ukraine in March.

Toney was called up by Gareth Southgate earlier this season but did not make his international debut and was subsequently not included in England’s squad for the World Cup.

Mark Bullingham, the FA’s chief executive, said in November that Toney’s omission from the World Cup squad was purely for “footballing” reasons, with the player available for selection despite the gambling charges hanging over him. 

Toney has been in sensational form for Brentford this season, scoring 15 goals in 23 matches in all competitions. Only Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland have scored more goals in the Premier League campaign so far.

In 2017, Joey Barton was banned for 18 months (later reduced to 13 months) after he admitted placing more than 1,200 bets over the course of a decade. 

And Kieran Trippier, the England defender, was banned for 10 weeks in December 2020 after he was found to have broken betting rules.