According to the latest report by The Athletic UK Brentford reporter Jay Harris, Ivan Tony, who was accused of violating the 262th gambling regulations by the FA, will most likely face a suspension.
Frank’s team ranked 10th with 19 points after 15 games, but Toni has been directly involved in 40 per cent of their goals since they won the 2020-21 Championship playoff final. Losing him for a long time will prompt Brentford to consider their options in the transfer market.
Of course, Tony may just be fined, but there have been recent examples of players being punished for violating FA gambling rules, which shows that it is impossible to just fine.
In January 2021, Newcastle and England full-back Kieran Tripier was suspended for 10 weeks and fined £70,000 for telling friends to move him from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019.
Daniel Sturridge was suspended for four months after he instructed his brother Leon in January 2018 to bet on a possible move to Spanish side Sevilla.
In 2017, Joey Button was suspended by the FA for 18 months after he made 1260 bets on football matches, at least five of which were played by himself. On appeal, Button successfully shortened the suspension to 13 months.
The good news for Brentford is that Tony can continue to train and play until the end of the investigation. The striker played football for seven months during the investigation, but the public was completely unaware of it. Although Tony has been charged now, he is still allowed to take part in the competition.