Ivan Toney has broken his silence on his eight month gambling ban with a short statement, following new details explaining why he's been banned for so long.
Earlier this month Toney was handed a ban that will stop him from playing football or even training until next January, after being found guilty for breaches of FA rule E8 between February 2017 and January 2021.
The Brenford forward admitted the charges for the 232 breaches leading to his long ban and a fine of £50,000 but not many more details were known.
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On Friday the FA revealed that amongst the bets were 13 occasions when he had bet against his own team, though he wasn't involved in any of the matchday squads.
Most of those bets were when he was on loan at Wigan Athletic and betting against Newcastle United, who were his parent club at the time.
The report also revealed that the FA had initially wanted the 27-year-old to be banned from the game for 15 months, due to the amount of time the charges stretched over.
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However it was decided to lower the time due to a mixture of the guilty plea and the fact he was diagnosed with having a gambling addiction.
Now the Brentford star has made his first statement on the whole matter, though he's not said much, simply tweeting, "I’ll speak soon with no filter."
England boss Gareth Southgate explained he didn't like the terms of the ban that stop Toney from even being able to train with his club.
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"He's injured at the moment, what does he do about getting fit? How do we give him some structure over the next few months so that he can develop himself or be a better person at the end of it or have experiences that he might not experience?", the England boss asked.
"I don't like the idea we just leave somebody, that they're not allowed to be part of the football community. I don't think that's how we should work, how the best rehabilitation programmes work.
"He knows that we picked him because we felt until there was a charge he should be allowed to play. When he comes back, if he plays well, then we'll pick him.
"It won't have any bearing but I think he'll have additional motivation through what he is experiencing. He's a resilient guy with great character and we're here to support him."
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Paul Merson also brought into question the decision to ban Toney, saying that being sat at home for eight months would not be good for his addiction.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Football, Ivan Toney, Premier League, Brentford, FA
