Ivan Toney will seek therapy at the end of the season after being diagnosed with gambling addiction during the case which led to his eight-month ban from football.
Why was Ivan Toney banned?
The details of the Brentford striker’s ban were published by the Football Association on Friday and revealed that the most serious breaches included betting on his own team to lose in matches he did not play.
Between August 2017 and March 2018 he bet on Newcastle United to lose 11 times while he was on loan at another club. He also placed two bets on Wigan to lose against Aston Villa while he was on loan at the club but was not part of the match squad.
Toney, 27, also accepted an “inside information charge” of telling a friend on 29 March 2018 that he would be starting the next game. The player, who has one England cap, also made 16 bets on his own team to win, 15 bets on himself to score in a game and six bets on others to score.
Toney admitted lying repeatedly during an FA interview when he said on a number of occasions “I don’t bet on football” and claiming that he had not used other people’s accounts to place bets to conceal from the FA that he was breaking its rules.
Yet under cross-examination later he was asked: “Do you accept that you repeatedly lied during your interview on 10 October and you told the FA time after time you did not bet on football?” Toney replied: “Yes.”
How did Toney keep his betting secret?
Toney claimed that he used other people’s betting accounts so that the activity did not show up on bank statements that would be posted to his house and that his parents might open, but the independent commission, which determined the sanction following the FA investigation, found this “not persuasive at all”.
“There was no evidence that his parents ever opened his bank statements, and if there was a genuine concern about them seeing his football betting or betting generally he could have requested his bank statements or other correspondence to be made available on-line only,” the written reasons for the ban state.
The FA’s leading counsel contested that Toney had a gambling addiction, as diagnosed by Dr Philip Hopley, but the commission disagreed with the governing body’s argument.
The commission stated: “Dr Hopley is a highly qualified and experienced psychiatric expert who interviewed Mr Toney on two occasions and who formed a clear opinion as to his gambling addiction. His evidence is well reasoned and highly persuasive and there is no reason for the commission not to accept that evidence. Accordingly the Commission accepted the findings of Dr Hopley on this issue.”
What happens next?
The FA pushed for Toney to receive a year-long suspension but it was reduced by the commission.
“It is common ground between the parties that at this stage the sanction should be reduced in respect of the personal mitigation that is available to Mr Toney,” the written reasons state. “This includes his relative youth at the time when the breaches began, his previous good record in respect of anything other than on-field breaches, and his genuine remorse which he expressed in fulsome terms before the commission.
“In addition, and of particular importance, the commission finds that a significant reduction should be made to reflect the diagnosed gambling addiction identified by Dr Hopley. The lack of control the player has in respect of gambling is clearly a reflection of his diagnosed gambling addiction. The position appears to be that Mr Toney has ceased gambling on football although he still gambles on other sports and casino games.
“He is determined to address his gambling problem with therapy at the conclusion of this season. Taking all of those matters into account the commission reduces the sanction by three months to a suspension of eight months. There is no clear and compelling reason to suspend any part of that suspension.”
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/cvlSDum
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