Ivan Toney: 232 breaches of FA Rule E8
«A Participant shall not use any information relating to football which the Participant has obtained by virtue of his or her position within the game and which is not publicly available at that time for or in relation to betting. »
This is the exact wording of England’s Football Association’s Rule E8 paragraph 4.4. After a quite long and kept secret investigation by an independent authority, Ivan Toney, Brentford and England’s attacker, has been charged with breaching it multiple times between February 25, 2017 and January 23, 2021. The investigation was brought to public knowledge by Daily Mail and the player acknowledged it by issuing a statement at Twitter. While it is not a case of a direct violation of the trust of the bettors to the practices of the top Asian and European bookmakers, it did send a new wave of ripples throughout the industry.
The case itself
While no details have been revealed on the exact nature of the violations, pending a release from the investigative body of an official statement, according to the FA, Toney proceeded to 262 counts of breaching Rule E8. During the interview, the player himself admitted to 232 while the remaining 30 were removed from the docket. The punishment for the crime that has been imposed, is an 8-month ban from all football activities and a £ 50,000 (€ 57,555, $ 62,407) fine. He will be able to return after January 16, 2024 to official matches. However, he will be able to return to training with Brentford after September 17, 2023.
Both the player and the club have been asked to comment about the incidents and the punishment, however, both sides refused to do so until the investigation paperwork has been released and the case made official. On this issue, the FA had this to say:
«The Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course. »
A serious blow for Brentford
Toney has been most instrumental in the club’s record for this year that has led them to the 9th place of the table. In 33 appearances he scored 20 goals and he was considered as the potentially most dangerous player in front of goal for the opposing defenses. While, there are only 2 rounds left for the Premier League for this season, the question is what will they do for the next one, as he will not be available for half of it. Not to mention, of course, that he will not participate at all, during the most important phase for a club. The preparatory period during the summer.
Another, and more serious, question is what can the legislatory bodies do, to minimize or eradicate such incidents. While this one does not have major effects on the punters who can still place their trust and still open a betting account via agent, the latest cases of match fixing and other violations of the rules, seem to indicate a problem that is becoming more frequent, rather than more scarce.
