Ivan Toney Diagnosed With Gambling Addiction

Ivan Toney, a striker for Brentford and England, was given an eight-month suspension from football by the Football Association after being found to be a gambling addict who placed 13 bets on his own teams to lose.

The 27-year-old football player also admitted to lying to the FA about gambling on football and telling a friend insider knowledge about his debut.

On Friday, Ivan Toney responded with just six words, promising to soon share his genuine opinions without any filters.

In the FA’s bombshell written report, published today, it is revealed that Toney: “Placed 13 bets on his own team between August 2017 and March 2018, with 11 of those made against Newcastle, his parent club, while on loan at Wigan.

“Informed a friend that he would start his next club’s match in March 2018.

“Used other people’s accounts to place bets despite initially denying the allegations

“Admitted to lying during his first interview with the FA when questioned about the gambling charges.

“Suspected of having a separate mobile phone to place bets, which he did not hand to the FA during their investigation.

“Still bets on other sports and casino games and is ‘determined to address his gambling problem with therapy’ during the ban.”

Due to the seriousness of the violations, the regulatory board was about to impose a 15-month suspension on Toney, but they reduced it by almost half after learning that he had admitted guilt and been suffering from a gambling addiction, according to a psychiatric professional.

Additionally, it was mentioned that Ivan Toney did not participate in any of the games in which he placed a bet against his parent club.

According to a section of the FA’s report released on Friday, “Of those 29 bets, there were 13 bets on Mr Toney’s own team to lose in 7 different matches between 22 August 2017 and 3 March 2018.

“Mr Toney did not play in any of those matches where he placed bets against his loan club as he was not in the match squad or against his parent club as he was on loan.

“Of the 13 bets 11 were against Newcastle whilst Mr Toney was on loan at another club.

“The other 2 bets related to a game between Wigan v Aston Villa whilst the player was on loan at Wigan but he was not part of the squad.

“A further 15 of the 126 bets or instructions to bet were placed by Mr Toney to score in 9 different matches all of which he played in.

“All of those 15 bets or instructions to bet were initiated by Mr Toney at a time when it would not have been public knowledge that he was starting or playing in the fixture.”

The FA continued by disclosing that Toney has now been given a gambling addiction diagnosis and has been counselled to seek medical attention.

“The Commission had the benefit of a report from Dr Philip Hopley dated 2 February 2023 who also attended the hearing by video conference to answer questions.

“Dr Hopley had interviewed Mr Toney on two occasions and concluded in his report that Mr Toney has a clear history of gambling addiction.

“There is no need to set out the details of the report for these reasons. It was Dr Hopley’s conclusion that Mr. Toney needs professional help in respect of his addiction.

“The position appears to be that Mr Toney has ceased gambling on football although he still gambles on other sports and casino games. He is determined to address his gambling problem with therapy at the conclusion of this season.”

Following a hearing this month, an independent disciplinary tribunal sentenced Toney to an eight-month suspension and a £50,000 fine after he entered a guilty plea to the majority of the 262 betting-related offences the FA brought against him last year.

As a result of the ban, Toney won’t be able to play until January 16 of the following year. This is due to the number of violations as well as the fact that the bets were made over a lengthy four-year period, from February 2017 to January 2021.

The striker will not even be able to train with Brentford until September, so his only option for staying in shape is to work out alone.