A suitable punishment

English Premier League (EPL) striker Ivan Toney had made the headlines this week for all the wrong reasons. The Football Association (FA) has accused the Brentford player of breaching its gambling-related rules a staggering 232 times during his soccer career.

facing a substantial financial penalty and a lengthy ban from playing

Toney, who has had a meteoric rise through English soccer over the past few years, has not yet responded publicly to the allegations. If past examples are anything to go by, however, it is clear that he is facing a substantial financial penalty and a lengthy ban from playing – something that could prove incredibly detrimental to the in-form striker’s career.

In light of this scandal, VegasSlotsOnline News has taken a look at past instances in which English soccer players have breached gambling rules to assess how the FA may treat Toney. Each of these players has felt the might of the soccer body for their gambling antics in different ways.

Kieran Trippier

The most recent betting ban came in 2020 courtesy of Kieran Trippier. At the time of the breaches in July 2019, Trippier was eyeing up an exit from EPL team Tottenham Hotspur. According to the FA, the defender provided insider information to people he knew regarding his imminent transfer to La Liga club Atletico Madrid.

The soccer body found Trippier guilty of seven breaches of the rules forbidding anyone inside the game to pass information which is not publicly available for the purposes of betting. As a result, Trippier had to pay a ￡70,000 (83,449) fine and see out a ten-week suspension from all soccer-related activity.

The defender repeatedly denied the claims, also asserting that he “fully complied with the FA’s investigation.” Regardless, his claims fell on death ears, and the player ultimately missed 11 La Liga games, one in the Copa Del Rey, and the first leg of a Champions League tie with Chelsea.

Trippier is currently in Qatar for the FIFA World Cup having made Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the tournament.

Daniel Sturridge

In another high profile case, ex Liverpool and England international player Daniel Sturridge was hit with a four-month ban and an eye-watering ￡150,000 ($178,900) ?fine in March 2020.

Similar to Trippier’s breaches, Sturridge’s offenses related to a transfer. He provided his brother with inside information on a move from Liverpool to Sevilla in 2018. Initially, the FA issued a four-week suspension and a ￡75,000 ($89,382) fine. The body then upped this after claiming the sanction was too lenient given the seriousness of the case.

disappointing and upsetting”

Sturridge, who deemed the more severe punishment “disappointing and upsetting,” had to terminate his contract with the Turkish club Trabzonspor as a result of the suspension. The now-33-year-old has since made a move to Australia where he currently plays for Perth Glory FC. ?

Andros Townsend

Andros Townsend is the third player in our list to have played for the England international team. He felt the full force of the FA in 2013 while playing for Tottenham.

The midfielder, who has since admitted that he suffered from a gambling addiction, violated betting laws while on loan at Birmingham City. He has since confessed that he lost ￡46,000 ($54,814) in one night wagering on games during the 2012/13 season. Despite this, the FA found no evidence that he bet on games in which he was involved.

Townsend, who now plays for Everton in the EPL, published a piece on The Players’ Tribune in 2019 in which he detailed his addiction. The midfielder wrote: “I don’t do drugs. I don’t think I’ve ever been inside a nightclub in my life. And yet I still managed to lose 46 grand with just one tap on my phone.” He said that a combination of boredom and his addictive personality pushed him into the gambling world.

Joey Barton

Joey Barton is a controversial name in English soccer. The outspoken Liverpudlian often found himself in trouble for winding up opposing players on the soccer pitch, but another kind of rule breach in 2016 ended his playing career completely.

1,260 bets on soccer games between 2006 and 2013

While playing for Burnley in the EPL, Barton was banned from the game for 18 months on betting-related charges. The FA accused him of placing 1,260 bets on soccer games between 2006 and 2013. Notably, this included at least five matches in which he was playing. After admitting to the offenses, Barton unsuccessfully appealed against the length of the ban.

In a statement on his website at the time, Barton said: “The decision effectively forces me into an early retirement from playing football.” Since then, the former Burnley man has began his managing career, currently under a three year contract with Bristol Rovers in League One.