Ivan Toney: 5 Top Footballers Who Have Been Banned For Gambling

The Brentford player could be banned for several months after being charged with 232 breaches of the English FA’s betting rules.

Here are five other famous footballers who have been in similar situations and ended up being suspended or fined, or both.

Joey Barton earned a reputation for controversy in his playing years, including multiple cards, reds and yellows, hard tackles, pitching fights, and even gambling.

Barton was found to have breached the betting rules in 2016 when the FA discovered that he had been betting on football matches and competitions between March 2006 and May 2016. Investigations revealed that he had placed 1,260 bets over a ten-year period, including bets against teammates. .

Barton was banned by the FA for 18 months in 2017 for his petty offences, and also received a one-match ban from the Scottish Football Association for breaching the Laws of the Game while playing for Rangers.

Former England international Daniel Sturridge was found to have breached betting rules in 2019, with serious consequences for his career.

The former Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool striker was seized after investigations revealed he had shared inside information relating to a possible transfer in January 2018. Turkish club Trabzonspor handed him a four-month ban and also fined him £150,000. He also terminated his three-year contract contract after seven months.

Sturridge continues to protest his innocence, blaming bookmakers for allowing bets on transfers, his career has never recovered and he has only played for Australian club Perth Glory since.

Like Sturridge, another England international, Kieran Trippier, was involved in a transfer-related betting scandal.

In July 2019, Trippier shared a WhatsApp message hinting that he was about to sign for Atlético Madrid.

His friends used the information to place multiple bets and an FA investigation found him guilty of insider trading and banned him from all footballing activities for ten weeks. He too was fined £70,000 and made to bear the costs of the investigation.

Luckily for Trippier, he has since bounced back to continue his career at Atlético Madrid and now at Newcastle, where he captains the club and will represent England at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Andros Townsend is another former England international who has been caught up in a gambling offence.

The winger was found breaching betting laws while on loan at Birmingham City by the Football Association.

Townsend revealed that he lost £46,000 in one night while suffering from gambling addiction during the 2012/13 season and, as a result, the former Tottenham player was banned for four months for breaching betting rules.

Former Argentina and Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis was involved in a gambling scandal in his playing days.

The former Premier League winner with Man City was fined £22,000 in May 2016 for betting on football matches.

Investigations revealed that he had placed 29 bets on matches played over three weeks. He was lucky to escape a ban but was warned by the FA.