Tag: Ivan Toney

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Toney earns England call-up despite potential ban

Mueez Ajao

– England manager Gareth Southgate has picked uncapped striker Ivan Toney in the squad for this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.

– Brentford’s Toney, 27, is the second-highest English goalscorer in the Premier League this season with 16 goals, behind Tottenham’s Harry Kane.

– However, he is facing a potential ban from the game having accepted breaking Football Association betting rules.

Also Read: Man who abused Brentford’s Toney online gets three-year football ban

– England travel to Italy on 23 March and host Ukraine at Wembley on 26 March.

– The matches will be England’s first since they were knocked out by France in the World Cup quarter-final in December.

– Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of five players picked for the tournament in Qatar who are not in Southgate’s latest 25-man squad.

– The others are defenders Conor Coady and Ben White, striker Callum Wilson and the injured Raheem Sterling.

– Chelsea’s right-back Reece James and left-back Ben Chilwell missed the World Cup through injury but return to the squad, along with Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.

– Toney was charged with 232 betting breaches in November and a further 30 in December, and a disciplinary hearing has yet to take place.

– “He is playing for his club and available for them,” said Southgate. “There hasn’t been a trial or any judgement so I don’t know on what basis we wouldn’t pick him.

– “Ivan has been consistent across the season. He is playing really well. I like his presence in games.”

– Toney was picked in the squad for England’s Nations League qualifiers with Italy and Germany last year but did not play.

– The forward has helped Brentford to eighth in the Premier League this season and scored the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with top-flight leaders Arsenal in February.

– “I saw his game against Arsenal where he was outstanding and he deserves his opportunity,” Southgate added.

– Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker has been picked, despite Cheshire Police launching an investigation after a newspaper alleged he indecently exposed himself in a bar.

– “It is a complicated situation, I have spoken at length with him,” said Southgate.

– “He is back playing with his club, there is no conclusive evidence to leave him out at this stage. I have to be careful on being the moral judge on things.

– “We have had a couple of long conversations, we feel we want him with us, but we know when you’re an England player there is an even higher bar on how you conduct yourselves and what is expected.

– “We are not taking those decisions lightly.”

– Arsenal defender White returned home from the World Cup for personal reasons after the group stage.

– On the omissions of White and Alexander-Arnold from his latest squad, Southgate said: “There are three boys that are in as right-backs, we’ve got them just ahead of those two.

– “We’re blessed in that position with a depth of talent and it’s the hardest position to pick, albeit it’s never straightforward criteria and it’s always shifting around a little bit on form.”

Squad list:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)

Defenders: Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), James Maddison (Leicester City), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (West Ham)

Forwards: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford)

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Man who abused Brentford’s Toney online gets three-year football ban

Ivan Toney

Mueez Ajao

– A man who racially abused Brentford striker Ivan Toney on social media has been banned from every stadium in the country in the first banning order issued under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, the Premier League club said on Tuesday.

– Toney, who has been racially abused several times in the past, shared a screenshot of the message he received on Instagram in October after he scored twice in a 2-0 win over Brighton.

– Northumbria Police and the Metropolitan Police launched a full investigation to trace the suspect and in January the man, named Neill, pleaded guilty to sending an offensive message.

Also Read: Brentford’s Toney racially abused after scoring against Arsenal

– “Neill was handed a four-month sentence suspended for two years for the online offence as well as a three-year football banning order — the first of its kind to be issued under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022,” Brentford said in a statement.

– “The legislation widened the scope for banning orders to be issued for online hate crimes relating to a person with a prescribed connection to a football organisation.

– “The order forbids Neill from attending any regulated football match in the UK, which includes Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two and National League fixtures, as well as England home internationals.”

– Neill is also banned from travelling abroad to watch international friendlies, qualification matches and tournaments.

– Brentford said the club hopes sentences for online abuse increase and called on social media companies to remove all hateful content to make their platforms safe for everyone.

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Brentford’s Toney racially abused after scoring against Arsenal

Ivan Toney

Mueez Ajao

– Brentford have condemned the “barrage” of racist abuse sent to striker Ivan Toney over social media after he scored the equaliser in Saturday’s draw with Premier League leaders Arsenal.

– Toney scored a header on 74 minutes at the Emirates to cancel out Arsenal substitute Leandro Trossard’s earlier strike, forcing a draw that sees the hosts drop points in the race for the Premier League title.

– Brentford said in a statement on Sunday: “Immediately after Brentford’s game against Arsenal, Ivan Toney received a barrage of abusive, racist direct messages via his Instagram account.

Also Read: Toney dents Arsenal’s title charge

– “We are disgusted and saddened that Ivan has had to deal with this yet again.”

– Arsenal also condemned the abuse, adding they are taking actions to deal with the racist abuse.

– “We stand with Ivan Toney and are working with Brentford to identify those who sent racist abuse,” the north London club said in a statement.

– “At Arsenal we condemn all forms of discrimination and take a zero tolerance approach. We will apply the strongest possible action to anyone we can identify sending hateful messages.”

– Toney’s goal sparked outrage from Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, with Brentford defender Christian Norgaard being in an offside position before assisting the equaliser.

– Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body responsible for match officials across English football, admitted on Sunday the goal should have been ruled offside and was one of two “significant” VAR offside errors.

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Toney dents Arsenal’s title charge

Ivan Toney

Mueez Ajao

– Substitute Leandro Trossard scored his first goal for Arsenal but the Premier League leaders missed the chance to move eight points clear at the top as Ivan Toney earned resilient Brentford a deserved point.

– After a goalless first half in which the Bees hit the woodwork through Toney, the Gunners took the lead when Trossard struck at the back post four minutes after coming off the bench.

– But Brentford got the reward their excellent away performance at Emirates Stadium deserved when Toney nodded in Christian Norgaard’s cross from close range.

Also Read: Arsenal’s Arteta refuses to comment on Man City allegations

– There was a lengthy check by the video assistant referee for a possible offside in the build-up but the goal was eventually confirmed.

– Arsenal raised the tempo in the closing stages – including seven minutes of added time – as they searched for a winner but Brentford completed an excellent defensive display by holding firm for a point.

– Arsenal face Manchester City – six points behind before their game on Sunday afternoon against Aston Villa – in a top-of-the table showdown on 15 February.

– Brentford, meanwhile, are eighth and just five points off fifth place.

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FA hit Brentford striker Toney with additional 30 counts of betting rules

Mueez Ajao

– Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been charged by the Football Association with a further 30 alleged breaches of betting rules.

– Last month he was charged with 232 alleged breaches of betting rules.

– Toney, 26, has scored 10 Premier League goals this season but missed out on a place in the England World Cup squad.

– Brentford previously said: “The club has been in discussion with Ivan and his legal representatives. Those conversations will continue privately.”

Also Read: Brentford’s Toney charged with 232 breaches of betting rules

– The club’s statement continued: “We will make no further comment until the matter has been completed.”

– Toney has until Wednesday, 4 January to respond to the new FA misconduct charges, involving alleged breaches of FA rule E8, which bans players from betting on games, or sharing privileged information for the purposes of betting.

– He faces a lengthy ban if they are proven. England defender Kieran Trippier was banned for 10 weeks by the FA in December 2020 for giving out information for others to bet on his transfer from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid.

– In 2017, Joey Barton – then a Burnley player – was banned for 18 months, reduced to 13 on appeal, after he admitted placing 1,260 football-related bets over a 10-year period.

– Toney said earlier this month, after the allegations were first reported, that he was “assisting the Football Association with their enquiries”.

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Brentford’s Toney charged with 232 breaches of betting rules

Ivan Toney

Mueez Ajao

– Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been charged by the Football Association (FA) with breaching betting rules more than 200 times, the governing body said on Wednesday.

– The FA said in a statement that it was alleged the 26-year-old, who was charged with misconduct, breached the rules 232 times between 2017 and 2021. Toney has until Nov. 24 to respond the charges.

Also Read: Champions City stung by last-gasp Toney winner

– A report in the Daily Mail newspaper this month said Toney had been under investigation for around seven months in relation to the alleged betting activity before he played for Brentford.

– It added there were no suggestions that he had betted on his own team to lose matches.

– “Brentford has been informed that Ivan Toney has been charged with breaches of FA Rule E8,” Brentford said in a statement.

– “The club has been in discussion with Ivan and his legal representatives about this matter and those conversations will continue privately. We will make no further comment until the matter has been completed.”

– After the newspaper report was published, Toney said he was assisting the FA with its enquiries.

– He was not named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the World Cup in Qatar which begins on Sunday.

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Champions City stung by last-gasp Toney winner

Ivan Toney

Mueez Ajao

– Ivan Toney responded to being overlooked for England’s World Cup squad by delivering a match-winning two-goal performance in Brentford’s thoroughly deserved Premier League win at Manchester City.

– Toney missed out on a place in Qatar but demonstrated his vital importance to Brentford with an outstanding all-round display that left the reigning Premier League champions stunned as the Bees took all three points with a 98th-minute winner.

– It was fully merited for Brentford’s positive approach as they refused to take a backward step from the first whistle, even after Manchester City’s Phil Foden restored equality with a crisp left-foot half-volley seconds before the interval.

Also Read: Carabao Cup fourth-round draw: Liverpool drawn vs Man City as Man Utd learn fate

– City, inevitably, turned up the tempo after the break, Ilkay Gundogan missing a glorious chance to put them ahead, but Brentford were a constant threat on the break with Ederson twice having to save from the ever-dangerous Toney.

– And it was a fitting conclusion to that added period of 10 minutes, mainly for a head injury to Aymeric Laporte, when Brentford caught City on the break for Toney to sweep home Josh Dasilva’s cross – the striker almost completing a hat-trick seconds later only for Kevin de Bruyne to clear off the line.

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Brentford blunted in Chelsea stalemate

Kepa Arrizabalaga and Ivan Toney

Mueez Ajao

– Lively Brentford earned a point at home against neighbours Chelsea on Wednesday, ending the visitors’ four-game Premier League winning run in a goalless London derby with plenty of enterprise but few chances.

– Brentford striker Ivan Toney, bidding for inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s England World Cup squad, kept the Chelsea defence busy and had his best opportunity in the ninth minute, forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga into a leaping save to tip the ball over.

– For Chelsea it was a disappointing night, not just for the dropped points but for a generally low-key display desperately short of pattern or cutting edge ideas.

Also Read: Chelsea confirm no World Cup for Kante

– They remain fourth in the standings on 20 points but already starting to drift off the pace set at the top and facing what is looking like a tense battle for a Champions League spot.

– Brentford remain solidly mid-table on 14 points and though they never looked like matching their shock 4-1 win at Stamford Bridge at the end of last season, they stood toe to toe with their big-money rivals and created the better chances with their usual confident, crisp passing.

– The first two of them fell to striker Toney, with eight goals to his name already this season, but Kepa tipped both of his headers over the bar.

– If Chelsea striker Armando Broja had displayed the commitment Toney has been showing this year he would probably have got his head to Cesar Azpilicueta’s tempting cross, while the full back forced David Raya to stretch and keep out his skidding low shot in the best of a thin attacking show by the visitors in the first half

– Five minutes after the break an unmarked Bryan Mbeumo mistimed a header, the ball looping tamely to Kepa, in what would turn out to be the best chance of the match.

– With Chelsea making no inroads at all, manager Graham Potter threw on three substitutes, including Raheem Sterling, though not Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

– It changed little, however, as Chelsea prodded and probed without carving out any clear opportunities, too often playing one pass too many in the search for the perfect chance when their fans were baying for someone to let fly.

– Aubameyang eventually joined the fray for the last 10 minutes and though he and fellow subs Christian Pulisic and Carney Chukwuemeka did at least keep Raya on his toes in a late relative flurry, it never really felt as if a goal was coming.

– Potter said he thought the draw was a fair result: “They had some chances, we had some, we finished the game stronger, but it was a hard-earned point against a team who make it difficult for you.

– “They put it into the box, set pieces, long balls, you have to defend that well and I think we did that, though we needed Kepa a couple of times.

– “The substitutes made an impact so that was good and I think that’s been a theme of my time here — everyone wants to play and when they come on they give everything.”

– Chelsea will hope to rediscover their verve at home to Manchester United on Saturday, while Brentford travel to Aston Villa on Sunday.

– “It’s good to get two clean sheets in a row,” said Raya, as the draw followed Friday’s 2-0 win over Brighton. “We need to build on this and take the positives, and I am happy with the point and the clean sheet.”

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Toney braces Brentford past Brighton

Ivan Toney

Mueez Ajao

– Brentford striker Ivan Toney scored with a deft backheel finish in the first half and added a penalty in the second to give his side a 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in their Friday night Premier League clash at the Gtech Community Stadium.

– The 26-year-old gave his hopes of being included in England’s World Cup squad a considerable boost with a superb all-round display, capped off by two goals that took his tally to 55 in 100 games in all competitions for Brentford.

– Both sides had decent chances to take the lead in the first half, with Bryan Mbeumo hitting the crossbar with a volley for Brentford just before Toney opened the scoring with a strike that might have been less spectacular, but still oozed class.

Also Read: Brilliant Brentford demolish Man Utd

– The home side broke forward and Frank Onyeka pulled the ball across the box for Toney to flick thorough the legs of defender Adam Webster and into the net with an audacious flick.

Ivan Toney

– With the visitors struggling to deal with Brentford at set pieces, Toney won a penalty in the 62nd minute as defender Joel Veltman bundled him over in the box, and the Englishman stepped up to confidently stroke home the spot kick to make it 2-0.

Ivan Toney

– Brighton enjoyed plenty of possession in the closing stages but couldn’t get the ball past David Raya in the Brentford goal as the home side held on for a win the lifts them to eighth in the standings on 13 points, one behind seventh-placed Brighton.

Brentford FC

– “I enjoy playing with these boys, we put in a great shift, everyone, we worked hard off the ball and that’s what Brentford is about,” Toney told Sky Sports.

– The striker was included in the England squad who faced Germany and Italy in the recent international break, and, although he didn’t get any playing time, his confidence is still high.

– “I feel good, I feel ready to go,” Toney added. “Obviously everyone is talking about the England thing, it’s unfortunate not to get on but I’ll keep going and I’ll keep working hard.”

Ivan Toney