Brentford striker Ivan Toney charged by Football Association over 232 alleged betting breaches

Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been charged by the Football Association over 232 alleged breaches of betting rules.

The forward had been under investigation for the alleged breaches which took place over four years.

In a statement, the FA wrote: “Ivan Toney has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of the FA’s Betting Rules.

“It is alleged that the Brentford FC forward breached FA Rule E8 232 times between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021.

“Ivan Toney has until Thursday 24 November 2022 to provide a response.”

Brentford, who signed Toney from Peterborough United for a reported £5 million in the summer of 2020, have said they are in discussion with their player over the matter.

“Brentford FC has been informed that Ivan Toney has been charged with breaches of FA Rule E8,” the Premier League club said in a statement.

“The club has been in discussion with Ivan and his legal representatives about this matter and those conversations will continue privately.

“We will make no further comment until the matter has been completed.”

Toney, 26, began his career at hometown club Northampton before moving to Newcastle in 2015.

After three years at the club, he moved to Peterborough where he scored 49 goals in 94 appearances in all competitions.

His form earned him a big-money move to Brentford and he helped the Bees to Premier League promotion after scoring 33 times in his debut season.

Toney scored 12 goals in his first season in the top flight with the west London club and has added a further 10 so far this campaign.

His form earned him a call-up for England in September for the Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany, although he didn’t feature in either match.

Toney is not part of the 26-man Three Lions squad in Qatar preparing for the 2022 World Cup.

Asked about Toney’s omission, Southgate said: “For us, September was a good opportunity to have a look at Ivan on the training pitch, to learn a bit more about him, for him to see how we work.

“We knew and had discussed with him it was a long shot to be involved at this time in a World Cup.

“We’ve tracked all the players since. We think Callum’s [Wilson] just in that really rich vein of form and has been with us a little bit more, been on the pitch with us, we know him a little bit better.”