Brentford forward Ivan Toney is currently serving a ban from soccer after being found guilty of breaching gambling regulations. As per the FA, the striker was guilty of no less than 232 betting-related offenses. Despite accepting his punishment, the forward attempted to clear his name during an appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett.
Speaking on the breaches, Toney stated that the bets served as a form of self-motivation. The 27-year-old said, “None of it was match-fixing. I was betting on myself to score first. I’m trying to do the right thing. It’s not like I’m smashing someone to get a yellow card. There are some bets I don’t remember placing. The bets that my team would lose, most of them are the ones that, personally, I don’t think I made. Still, I took responsibility for them so that the whole process could be cleared up”.
🚨🚨| Ivan Toney: “None of it was match fixing. I was betting on myself to score first. I’m trying to do the right thing. It’s not like I’m smashing someone to get a yellow card.”
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) August 21, 2023
The striker also went on to suggest that the punishments could’ve been part of a larger conspiracy against him.
Toney said, “I felt like ‘someone is out to get me’ to stop me playing for England. It doesn’t add up in my head. It’s everybody’s dream to be playing at the World Cup, to miss out, and then further down the line to be banned as well. It’s a double hit I feel. If you were gonna stop me than going to the World Cup, do it then and deal with the whole situation.”
Official documentation on the case clears Toney of any involvement in match-fixing activities. Instead, it presents a gambling addiction as the possible reason, with the striker betting on his own team to lose on 13 occasions between August 2017 and March 2018.
Ivan Toney reveals his dream transfer
Besides talking about his exile from soccer, Ivan Toney also dropped a strong hint about his future destination.
Prior to his ban, the striker was in red-hot form, and as a result, he was also linked to numerous top clubs. Despite watching from the sidelines, the 27-year-old is already thinking about his next move.
Speaking on the topic, Toney said, “The next club I go to, if I was to move, would be the right club. I’ve been a Liverpool fan my whole life but from young, I’ve liked Arsenal. I’ve liked watching Arsenal and how they play and how passionate their fans are. I’m a Liverpool boy at heart.”
Ivan Toney is a big fan of Liverpool and Arsenal 👀 pic.twitter.com/VaPFaxNv0R
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) August 21, 2023
Evidently, it’s a case of split loyalties for the striker. It’ll be interesting to see which of the two Premier League giants picks Toney should both clubs attempt to acquire his signature.