Ivan Toney smiles as he watches Brentford’s win over Man City from stands after eight-month ban
IVAN TONEY smiled in the stands as the banned striker watched his Brentford side beat champions Manchester City 1-0 to finish the season in style.
The one-cap Englishman looked in reflective mood as he comes to terms with an eight-month suspension and being diagnosed as a gambling addict.
Fans were happy to see Ivan Toney and were even more pleased as Brentford went on to snatch victory over Prem kings Man City
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has rallied round his star forward
Toney has been diagnosed as a gambling addict and many are calling for him to receive the support needed during his lengthy suspensionReuters
Fans turned around to watch as Toney settled down in the sun to see centre-back Ethan Pinnock end City‘s 25-game unbeaten run by drilling a fine late winner.
Pep Guardiola‘s Treble seekers rested their big names as they prepare for the Champions League and FA Cup finals.
But Toney saw the Bees shine, albeit just missing out on qualification for the Europa Conference League as they finished ninth.
His 20 goals in the Prem left him third in the scoring charts.
Toney was only topped by the 36 of City’s benched hero Erling Haaland and 30 from Tottenham main man Harry Kane.
But the 27-year-old faces a difficult time out of the game – unable to train until September 17 nor play matches until January 16.
And England boss Gareth Southgate is among those concerned he gets the right support.
The FA cut a possible ban of 15 months to eight after Toney admitted 232 betting breaches and accepted he had an addiction.
SunSport contacted Brentford, who confirmed that the striker had been cleared by the FA to attend the match.
Toney’s offences included betting on his own side to lose 13 times – across seven matches between August 2017 and March 2018.
Eleven bets were against Newcastle while he was on loan elsewhere.
The other two were for Wigan v Aston Villa when he was a Latics’ loanee but out of their squad.
Toney admitted lying to the FA in his first interview but was treated more leniently once he confessed, although he was still fined £50,000.
Ex-Peterborough hero Toney can’t even train until September
Toney looked in a good place and Brentford ended in a decent spot too as they came ninth, juut behind Aston Villa and Spurs
Calling for the frontman to receive help, Southgate said: “Not being allowed to play is one thing but not being allowed to be within the football community, we have to be really careful how we do that.
“He accepted the punishment. What bothers me is we must look after people. He’s injured, what does he do about getting fit?
“I don’t like the idea we leave somebody so they aren’t allowed to be part of the football community.
“I don’t think that’s how the best rehabilitation programmes would work.
“I’m not questioning the decision on the ban. I’m thinking about the player and how I help them.”
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
Never chase their losses
Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry, or depressed
Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
