Ivan Toney Pleads Guilty To Breaking Multiple Betting Rules

English soccer star Ivan Toney pleaded guilty to multiple charges of disobeying Football Association rules and betting on soccer.

In November, the Football Association (FA) charged Toney with 232 counts of betting. An additional thirty counts were added to his charges in December. The alleged instances occurred between February 2017 and January 2021.

According to the Daily Mail, Toney pleaded guilty to most of the charges he faces from the governing body. A disciplinary hearing will take place soon.

The total 262 charges against Toney breached the FA’s rule E8.1, which states:

Rule E8.4 applies to any Match Official, Match Official coach or Match Official observer operating at Level 4 or below, and any other person who is a Participant by virtue only of their involvement at a Club below Step 4 in the National League System, or at a Club at Steps 3-7 inclusive of the Women’s Football Pyramid. Such Participants are not subject to Rule E8.1, E8.2 and E3.3.

Rule E8.1 reads:

A Participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on-

E8.1.1 the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in or in connection with, a football match or competition; or

E81.2 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.

Other parts of the rules in section E8 bar players from sharing information that the public does not know, which could result in betters having an unfair advantage when placing a bet.

Toney is currently a member of Brentford, which plays in England’s top league, the Premier League, so he falls under Rules E8.1, E8.2, and E3.3. He is likely to face a lengthy suspension.

He played for Scunthorpe, Wigan, and Peterborough before he made it to Brentford. Toney has not been accused of wagering against the teams he has been on.

In 2017, former soccer player Joey Barton received an 18-month suspension after admitting to placing 1,260 bets over seven years. After an appeal, his sentence was reduced to 13 months.