Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney has said there should be more help for people with gambling addictions and questioned whether football is doing enough to address its relationship with gambling.
Last month, Toney was banned from all football activity until January 17 and fined £50,000 after admitting to 232 breaches of the Football Association's betting rules.
Now, speaking on the Kick Game YouTube channel, Toney expressed frustration that the majority of football teams are sponsored by gambling companies and said there should be more support for people, like him, who have issues with gambling and find themselves going in a similar direction.
‘People out there are painting a certain picture of me, fair enough, but people that know me know who I am and what I'm about. The majority of football teams now are sponsored by gambling companies, so weigh it up,’ Toney said.
‘If the rules are not to bet, you shouldn't be betting, but for people that need help there should be more around them to stop them going in that direction.’
Despite admitting his wrongdoing, Toney believes the FA's investigation into his gambling breaches were made public in a 'spiteful' way, with the information being released on the eve of Gareth Southgate naming his England squad for the 2022 World Cup.
'People try to break people down,' said Toney. 'How it come out, just before the England camp, obviously missing out on the World Cup. In a way, it was kind of like: 'get out now so you don't go England. And then all of a sudden they want to wait until the end of the season. But it is what it is.'
'They wanted to do it that way. I call it a bit spiteful. You just have to get on with it.' continued Toney.
The Brentford striker's punishment was reduced to 11 months after his guilty plea, then reduced again to eight months after there was evidence from a psychiatrist that he was experiencing gambling addiction and needed help. However, Toney still missed out representing his nation at the World Cup, a punishment that he says is bigger than any ban from football.
'I feel that was a bigger punishment, even though I am missing eight months of football. That was a bigger punishment, missing out on the World Cup. It's everybody's dream. I believe in myself and hopefully I can be at the next one,' he said.
'I don't want anybody to feel sorry for me. The punishment is the punishment, get on with it. I've just got to focus on training when I come back and being a different animal when I come back in the league. It's going to be frightening.
'When the time is right, I'll speak out on the majority of things and clear a few things up that need to be cleared. That is not now, unfortunately.'
Kate is a fitness writer for Men’s Health UK where she contributes regular workouts, training tips and nutrition guides. She has a post graduate diploma in Sports Performance Nutrition and before joining Men’s Health she was a nutritionist, fitness writer and personal trainer with over 5k hours coaching on the gym floor. Kate has a keen interest in volunteering for animal shelters and when she isn’t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.
