Football Ivan Toney
Betting scandal professional cheats on comeback
Status: 23.01.2024 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Ivan Toney scored in his first game after an eight-month ban
Quelle: picture alliance/empics/John Walton
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Ivan Toney was banned from all competitions for eight months for breaching the English Football Association’s betting rules. Now the striker celebrated his comeback and caused the next controversy after just 20 minutes.
Brentford FC put on a show even before kick-off. The floodlights at Community Stadium were turned off and Jay-Z’s Public Service Announcement was playing over the loudspeakers. The first line in it says: “Allow me to reintroduce myself.” A video clip flashed across the stadium screens showing the best scenes of Brentford attacker Ivan Toney.
The Englishman returned to the pitch after an eight-month ban and also as captain because he replaced the injured Christian Nörgaard. Toney was banned last year for violating English betting rules. Toney pleaded guilty to 232 counts and entered therapy to get his gambling addiction under control. He had bet on football matches, which is forbidden for Premier League professionals.
His comeback last Saturday came at the right time. Brentford had lost five games in a row in the Premier League and had fallen to 16th place in the table. And the basement duel against Nottingham Forest also got off to a very bad start, with the “Bees” conceding the score 1-0 after just three minutes.
Toney scores with a direct free kick
Midway through the first half there was a scene that caused a lot of conversation – and Toney was the center of attention. Shortly before the edge of the penalty area, Mikkel Damsgaard was fouled, free kick for Brentford – a matter for captain Toney.
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While referee Darren England was still involved in debates with the players, Toney missed the ball twice. The striker even wiped the free kick spray that marks the spot where the free kick was taken from the grass. In the end the ball was around half a meter away from its original position. Toney pushed the free kick past the wall at a better angle, 1-1. Brentford eventually won 3-2.
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The equalizer was subsequently discussed controversially, especially because the video referee did not intervene despite obvious manipulation. “I moved the ball a little bit. I think you have a yard there (91 centimeters, the editorial team) leeway. And then I pushed him around the wall into the corner,” Toney explained. Nottingham coach Nuno Espirito Santo saw the situation differently: “It’s a clear case. The ball has obviously been moved. Any situation that leads to a goal needs to be reviewed.”
Correct free kick execution is not a VAR task
In fact, the English FA rules only cursorily state that a free kick must be taken from the spot where the offense was punished. The execution itself is the responsibility of the referee. Because Referee England did not notice the ball being moved, the video referee can no longer intervene. The same applies if a goal is scored from a corner and the ball was not in the designated quarter circle. Both Espirito Santo and Toney were wrong in their attempts at explanation.
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However, that didn’t change the fact that fans on social media were angry about the attacker’s behavior. Toney was accused of cheating, and his past as a betting scandal gambler fueled the negative mood.
“He is a cheeky player. What more can I say about that?” Brentford coach Thomas Frank tried to talk things down. Toney himself said: “I wanted to give people a show. I hope I was able to maintain that.”
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