by tyler | May 25, 2023 | CNN, football
Embattled LaLiga president Javier Tebas repeated a racist slur used by fans towards Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr. when discussing the incident at a press conference on Thursday.
Tebas was speaking to the media in the days after Vinícius suffered persistent racist abuse from some Valencia fans throughout a game at the Mestalla Stadium.
“We’re very conscious and very concentrated – not only in the fight against racism – in the fact that Vinícius is being the object of insults. Why? Because he’s a great player,” Tebas told reporters.
“The great players like Cristiano Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi are the ones who received the most insults – homophobic in one case and intellectual disability in the other. Why? Because they’re great players” Tebas continued.
“If a fan gets angry because Vini is very good, instead of saying ‘f**king Black,’ say, as the King of Spain [Juan Carlos I] said to [then Venezuela president Hugo] Chávez in his day [2007]: ‘Why don’t you shut up?’”
According to the match official’s report from Valencia’s 1-0 win over Madrid on Sunday, a fan had shouted “monkey, monkey” at Vinícius during the second half.
Video footage of the match from DAZN España also shows that the Real Madrid star was subjected to various other racist insults throughout the game, including the slur repeated by Tebas at Thursday’s press conference.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) ordered a five-game partial stadium ban at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium and a fine of €45,000 (around $48,489) for the incident.
Fans and players from around the world showed their support for Vinícius over the week through social media posts, gestures and banners before games.
After RFEF President Luis Rubiales admitted earlier in the week that Spain has a racism problem, Tebas said he was “worried” about the situation around racist abuse in Spanish football.
“If I wasn’t worried, I’d be crazy, right?” he said. “Of course, I’m worried and I will work, we will work to find a solution to this image problem because football is… Spain is not racist, Spanish football is not racist.
“LaLiga has worked and will continue to work to fight against these conducts – racist insults, homophobic, whichever – within our stadiums. But obviously, it worries me and, obviously, we’ll have to work at it.”
Vinícius has been subjected to racist abuse from the stands on 10 occasions during La Liga matches over the past two seasons, and seven people were arrested on Tuesday in relation to incidents of racist abuse directed at the Madrid star this season.
Spanish police said four young men had been detained for allegedly hanging an effigy of Vinícius off a bridge in Madrid in January, while three others were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the racist insults aimed at the Brazilian during Sunday’s match against Valencia.
Both incidents are being treated as hate crimes.
The Spanish league has been criticized for not adequately addressing racist abuse in stadiums. In a statement released on Tuesday, LaLiga said it is formally calling to be given sanctioning powers to better fight racism in Spanish football.
At present, LaLiga says it cannot punish clubs or fans for incidents of racist abuse and can only pass on any reports of abuse to RFEF committees or regional prosecutors, who deal with them as legal cases before sporting punishments are handed out.
“In terms of sanctions as a sanctioning body – in Spain, we’ve never had, because this is what the National Sporting Law says, including the new National Sporting Law and the Sport Disciplinary Regulation… deducting points doesn’t exist [as a punishment for racist incidents], only when there are improper line-ups.
“Only in those cases, not for racist incidents. [Guidelines for racist incidents] like those which exist for example in the English Premier League, where you can take points away [for racist abuse].
“In Spain, sporting discipline regulated by the State exists, so we can’t do it [currently]. Would it be good if we began to consider changing this so there could be point deductions? I think so.”
During his Q&A session, Tebas was asked if LaLiga employs Black staff members, replying that the organization doesn’t count the number of Black people working for the organization because “if we did count them, then that would be [looked upon as being] bad.”
“But as I travel a lot, in Angola, we have a Black employee with us. As I said, I don’t count them. I’ve seen some Black people in the digital department,” he said.
“As I said, I don’t count them. Yes, yes, there are but we don’t count them one by one. But the question is unusual. Do I know the statistics of how many? I know it by gender. How many Black people have we got? Well, I don’t know, but we have Asians that work for us too. If I did start counting the Black people, then you would call me racist.”
by tyler | May 25, 2023 | CNN, football
It’s one of the world’s most watched soccer leagues, featuring some of the planet’s greatest players. Except, this week, nobody is talking about the ‘beautiful game’ after the shameful racist abuse of Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr. sent LaLiga into crisis management mode.
It was only after the 10th reported incident of racist abuse aimed at Vinícius during a La Liga match since 2021, this time in Valencia on Sunday, that Spanish football and the country’s legal system finally clicked into gear.
Seven arrests were made by police on Tuesday alone, Spain’s football federation (RFEF) launched a new anti-racism campaign and ordered the partial closure of Valencia’s stadium and LaLiga formally called to be given sanctioning powers to better fight racism.
LaLiga told CNN it does not have the authority to impose punishments on clubs or fans. Instead, it must pass investigations into incidents of racist abuse onto local prosecutors, who deal with them as legal cases.
But what caused this sudden flurry of activity after incident No. 10 when nine previous incidents of racist abuse seemingly were not enough to spark meaningful action?
The answer, according to one former marketing chief, is money and reputation.
For the first time, Vinícius – one of the world’s most talented and recognizable players – insinuated that his future may not lie in the Iberian nation, while Spanish media was abuzz with suggestions that these incidents would hinder Spain’s joint 2030 World Cup bid – with Portugal, Morocco and Ukraine – an event that could be worth billions of dollars to the country.
Ricardo Fort, the former Head of Global Sponsorships at Visa and Coca-Cola, said brands that have sponsorship agreements with LaLiga may even start reconsidering these deals.
“The sponsors, if they are doing their job, have their PR teams monitoring how much they are involved in the conversation or how often their brands are being mentioned on social media and in the press,” Fort told CNN Sport.
“They probably have a statement ready to go if they feel they have to do it, but they are most likely holding that back to use only if it’s very, very necessary. All of them are trying to stay away from engaging the conversation, not to be associated with the problem.
“Behind the scenes, they are also calling the people they have to manage their relationships at LaLiga, to ask them to provide updates and to figure out what is their plan. Some of the CEOs may be questioning their marketing teams, whether or not this is something that is sustainable or if they should continue to be associated with LaLiga.”
Fort likens the current situation in Spain with the fallout of the FIFA corruption scandal in 2015.
Swiss police at the time made several arrests during a raid of a hotel where FIFA executives were staying, with numerous high-ranking officials indicted on charges of money laundering, fraud and racketeering in arguably the biggest scandal to ever hit global soccer.
The investigation eventually led to a number of powerful former soccer chiefs pleading guilty and receiving prison sentences.
At the time, Fort was working for Visa – one of FIFA’s main sponsors – and says there is “a lot of pressure” from numerous parties on organizations like FIFA and LaLiga in crisis management situations like these.
“You have the press calling to ask for a statement, you have investor relations, so big holders of stocks of all these companies asking questions,” Fort says.
“You have board members that are calling the CEO to ask what the company is going to do, you have – depending on the case – employees saying: ‘Why are we associated with this?’”
At a meeting with its sponsors in Zurich, Fort says FIFA laid out its plan to form an independent ethics committee. However, when the CEOs of FIFA’s sponsors were not appeased by the plan, they phoned then president Sepp Blatter to demand changes in management.
“I know that the CEO of Coca-Cola at that time, Muhtar Kent, called Sepp Blatter and said: ‘Sepp, it’s time to leave,’” Fort recalls. “So this is the kind of thing that if the solution is not on the horizon, some CEOs may do this.
“There is a loss of confidence in the ability of LaLiga to manage the crisis and find solutions,” Fort adds. “Now, if I was a sponsor, I would demand changes in management and that starts with the president.”
Earlier this week, the head of the RFEF, Luis Rubiales, criticized LaLiga president Javier Tebas, who got involved in a back-and-forth with Vinícius on Twitter after Sunday’s match.
“Directors are not here to get involved in engagements on social media, we’re here to try and solve problems – and this footballer was attacked very seriously,” Rubiales said.
“I think Javier Tebas is not prepared, equipped or interested in solving the problem,” adds Fort.
While removing the president from an organization is “not very effective in driving the solution” to the situation, Fort explains, it at least shows sponsors that the organization is “willing” to make big changes.
“That’s important,” he says.
LaLiga was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN, but Tebas issued an apology on Wednesday, saying he “didn’t mean to attack Vinícius.”
“But if people in Brazil understood it that way I have to apologize,” he told ESPN Brasil. “That wasn’t my intention. I expressed myself badly, at a bad time … but I did not intend to attack Vinicius.”
The fallout from the incident at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium on Sunday even took a diplomatic turn when Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and other government officials became involved.
The Brazilian minister of racial equality, Anielle Franco, said on Monday that she had already called the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office and Spain’s deputy prime minister to investigate, while Brazil’s justice minister, Flávio Dino, tweeted about the possibility of “extraterritoriality” – applying Brazil’s laws in Spain – if Spanish authorities fail to protect Vinícius.
The incident even drew comments from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who said the incident at the Mestalla Stadium “is a stark reminder of the prevalence of racism in sport.”
“I call on those who organize sporting events to have strategies in place to prevent and counter racism,” he added.
A spokesman for the US State Department also condemned the racists chants made against Vinícius, labeling them “horrific.”
Fort estimates that many of the sponsorship deals LaLiga has could run between $5 million and $10 million per season; a “sizable” amount, he says, but certainly not a “meaningful” financial impact given LaLiga’s revenues.
According to Reuters, LaLiga expects the total value of its business to increase from $26 billion to nearly $38 billion in seven to 10 years.
What can “really damage” LaLiga, however, is the continuing impact on its reputation, which would be made worse by sponsors canceling their deals with the league, according to Fort.
“If a recognized brand drops out because they don’t trust LaLiga’s commitment to combat racism, I think that’s going to have repercussions for them the next time they’re signing contracts for broadcasting or sponsors,” Fort says.
It can also provide a boost to competitors, too, with other European leagues using LaLiga’s mess to their advantage.
On Tuesday, the CEO of Italy’s Serie A, Luigi De Siervo, said the league will will take a “zero tolerance” approach to racist fans, according to Reuters.
“If you are Serie A or Ligue 1 or the Bundesliga, you are going to talk about racism in every sale speech that you’re going to do in the next few years,” Fort says.
“You’re going to tell your prospects that, unlike other countries, you don’t have a problem of racism. I think this is going to hurt LaLiga commercially.
“We don’t know the extent, but I think it’s going to happen over time – and they may not lose money. They know that they may not have lower revenues, but they will grow slower than they could have grown otherwise.”
by tyler | May 24, 2023 | CNN, football
Spain’s football federation has ordered a five-game partial stadium ban at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium following racist abuse suffered by Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr. during the teams’ La Liga match there on Sunday.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) also announced a fine of €45,000 (around $48,489) for the incident and rescinded the red card shown to Vinícius Jr. on the basis that the referee and video assistant officials did not take into account the actions of two Valencia players, Hugo Duro and Giorgi Mamardashvili.
According to the match official’s report from Valencia’s 1-0 win over Madrid on Sunday, a fan had shouted “monkey, monkey” at Vinícius Jr. during the second half.
Video footage of the match from DAZN España also shows that the Real Madrid star was subjected to various other racist insults throughout the game.
“It is considered proven, as reflected by the referee’s official report, that there were racist chants against Real Madrid player Vinícius, during that match, altering the normal action in the game, and considered very serious infractions,” the statement, posted to the federation’s website on Tuesday, said.
Valencia has the right to appeal the decision, which was handed down by RFEF’s Competition Committee. The section of the stadium to be closed are the southern stands, known as the Mario Kempes seating area, according to the release.
Valencia released a statement on Tuesday saying that it expressed “its total disagreement and indignation at the unjust and disproportionate sanction” and that it will fight the decision.
The rescinding of the red card meant that Vinícius was available to play in Los Blancos’ match Wednesday at home against Rayo Vallecano but was ruled out through injury.
The Real Madrid players all wore shirts with Vinícius’ name and number on the back before the game while fans held up a banner reading: “We’re all Vinícius. Enough.”
In the moments before kickoff, players from both teams gathered to hold a banner which read: “Racists, out of football.” Vinícius was in the stands to watch his teammates.
On the 20th minute – corresponding with the No. 20 Vinícius wears – the crowd inside the Bernabeu stadium rose to their feet to pay tribute to him with a minute’s applause; the Brazilian was seen showing his appreciation for the gesture from his own fans.
The game against Rayo Vallecano ended in a 2-1 victory for Real Madrid. Karim Benzema opened the scoring in the first half with Raúl de Tomás leveling with the match coming to a close. However, in the final minute of regular time, Vinícius’ Brazilian teammate, Rodrygo, gave Los Merengues the three points.
Rodrygo appeared to pay tribute to Vinícius with his muted celebration, standing with a bowed head and a raised right fist.
Vinícius Jr’.s Brazilian compatriot Raphinha, who plays for Real Madrid’s bitter rival Barcelona, showed solidarity with his countryman during the league champion’s Tuesday night game against Real Valladolid.
After being substituted off the pitch, he revealed a message on an undershirt, reading, “Until the color of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes, there will be war” in Portuguese.
Vinícius has been subjected to racist abuse from the stands on numerous occasions during La Liga matches over the past two seasons, and seven people were arrested on Tuesday in relation to incidents of racist abuse directed at the Real Madrid star this season.
Spanish police said four young men had been detained for allegedly hanging an effigy of Vinícius off a bridge in Madrid in January, while three others were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the racist insults aimed at the Brazilian during Sunday’s match against Valencia.
Both incidents are being treated as hate crimes.
Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came to Vinícius’ defense on Monday, saying that it’s “not possible that almost in the middle of the 21st century, we have racial prejudice gaining strength in several football stadiums in Europe.
“I think it is important that FIFA, the Spanish league, and leagues in other countries take real action because we cannot allow fascism and racism to dominate football stadiums,” he added.
Meanwhile, the lights at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue were turned off to show solidarity with Vinícius on Monday.
by tyler | May 23, 2023 | CNN, football
Seven people were arrested on Tuesday in relation to incidents of racist abuse directed at Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr. this season.
Spanish police said four young men had been detained for allegedly hanging an effigy of Vinícius off a bridge in Madrid in January, while three others were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the racist insults aimed at the Brazilian during Sunday’s match against Valencia.
Both incidents are being treated as hate crimes.
The incident with the effigy occurred in the Spanish capital near Real’s training center ahead of the team’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Atlético Madrid on January 26.
In videos which were widely viewed on social media, the effigy – which was dressed in a Real Madrid shirt with Vinícius’ name and No. 20 on the back – was shown hanging along with a banner which read: “Madrid hates Real.”
“Three of those arrested are active members of a radical fan group of a football club from Madrid,” the police statement read.
“The investigation carried out by police through evidence gathered, witnesses and open-source digital research, among other things, led to the identification of the four men suspected of the crime.”
The police statement added that the three fans belonging to an ultra group had previously been identified at matches classified as “high risk” in the police’s attempts to clamp down on violence in sport.
The three suspects in the incident at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium are aged 18 to 21 and were arrested in three different locations, the police press office told CNN.
Vinícius has been subjected to racist abuse from the stands on numerous occasions during La Liga matches over the past two seasons, most recently against Valencia on Sunday.
The referee’s official report from the game described the incident, noting a fan had shouted “monkey, monkey” at Vinícius during the second half. Video footage of the match from DAZN España also shows that the Real Madrid star was subjected to various other racist insults throughout the game.
Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came to Vinícius’ defense on Monday, saying that it’s “not possible that almost in the middle of the 21st century, we have racial prejudice gaining strength in several football stadiums in Europe.
“I think it is important that FIFA, the Spanish league, and leagues in other countries take real action because we cannot allow fascism and racism to dominate football stadiums,” he added.
On Monday, the lights at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue were turned off to show solidarity with Vinícius.
In a statement released on Tuesday, LaLiga said it is formally calling to be given sanctioning powers to better fight racism in Spanish football.
At present, LaLiga says it cannot punish clubs or fans for incidents of racist abuse and can only pass on any reports of abuse to Spanish football federation (RFEF) committees or regional prosecutors, who deal with them as legal cases before sporting punishments are handed out.
In one particular incident involving the Brazilian, LaLiga told CNN in March that following an investigation into racist chants of “You are a monkey, Vinícius, you are a monkey” – aimed at Vinícius before and during Real’s match against Atleti on September 18, 2022 – the local Madrid prosecutor didn’t pursue the case because the yells were within the context of other “unpleasant and disrespectful” chants during a “football match of maximum rivalry.”
As a result of this and amid increasing criticism at the lack of action taken over racist incidents, LaLiga says it “will now proactively seek an amendment to the law that enables it to enact disciplinary action moving forward.”
The head of the RFEF, Luis Rubiales, admitted on Monday that there is a racism problem in the country.
“We have a problem,” Rubiales told a media conference. “The first thing is to recognize that we have a problem in our country of behavior, education, racism.
“While there is just one fan, one undesirable, a group of undesirables, who insults due to sexuality, skin color or creed, then we have a serious problem. A serious problem that also stains a whole team, a whole fan base, a whole club, a whole country – and we are a welcoming country.
“Vinícius Junior and any footballer, woman or man, who suffers an insult, any violent act, has my support and that of the entire RFEF because we are here to help and ask them to help us improve,” he added.
Rubiales also criticized LaLiga president Javier Tebas, who got involved in a back-and-forth with Vinícius on Twitter after Sunday’s match.
Tebas tweeted Vinícius Jr. telling him to “inform” himself on LaLiga’s jurisdictions and role in racism cases and chiding him for twice not meeting with him to discuss the matter.
When Vinícius replied: “I am not your friend to talk with about racism. I want actions and punishments. Hashtags don’t move me,” Tebas again took to Twitter in an attempt to defend himself and LaLiga’s actions in the fight against racism.
Rubiales urged Vinícius Jr to ignore Tebas’ “irresponsible behavior.”
“I want to also ask him [Vini] to please ignore the irresponsible behavior of the President of LaLiga, who on social media engaged with a footballer who, hours earlier had received several racist insults of tremendous severity,” Rubiales said.
“Directors are not here to get involved in engagements on social media, we’re here to try and solve problems – and this footballer was attacked very seriously.
“It was not the time [to jump on social media],” he added.
However, a day after Vinícius tweeted “your hashtags don’t move me” to Tebas, the RFEF launched a new campaign called ‘Racists, get out of football’ that essentially amounts to a new hashtag and a message displayed on banners before matches.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Vinícius outlined the “inhumane” treatment he has been receiving throughout this season, saying that “every game away from home is an unpleasant surprise.”
His statement was posted alongside a video compilation of some of the incidents of racist abuse he has suffered.
“And there were many this season,” he said. “Death wishes, hanged effigy, many offensive chants … all registered, but the argument always comes down to ‘isolated cases,’ ‘a fan.’ No, they are not isolated cases.
“They are regular incidents spread across several cities in Spain and even in a television program. The proof is there in the video. I now ask: How many of these racists had their names and photos displayed on websites? I’ll answer to make it easy: zero. None to tell an sorry story or make those false public apologies.”
The incident on Spanish TV which Vinícius Jr. referred to involved Pedro Bravo – a leading agent and president of the Association of Spanish Agents – who in September 2022 compared the Madrid star’s dancing celebrations after scoring to the behavior of a monkey, arguing the forward was not respecting his opponents and “should stop playing the monkey.”
“When you score against a rival, if you want to dance samba, you go to the sambadrome in Brazil, here what you have to do is to respect your colleagues and stop playing the monkey,” he said.
Bravo was accused of using racist language by many on social media and later apologized on Twitter, explaining he had misused a metaphor.
Vinícius’ Monday post continued: “What’s missing to criminalize these people? And hand sporting punishments to clubs? Why don’t sponsors charge La Liga? Don’t televisions bother to broadcast this barbarity every weekend? The problem is very serious and press releases no longer work.
“Blaming me to justify criminal acts doesn’t either. It’s not football, it’s inhumane.”
by tyler | May 18, 2023 | CNN, football
When Manchester City started putting Real Madrid to the sword in the Champions League semifinal second leg on Wednesday, there was a palpable outpouring of emotion inside the Etihad Stadium that could be felt through television screens across the world.
City fans were whipped into a frenzy, players pumped their chests in celebration and manager Pep Guardiola, usually more composed than most, looked overcome with relief.
For years, this City team has dominated English football – winning four Premier League titles in the last five seasons – but it has failed to really stamp its authority in Europe.
And while Inter Milan still stands in the way of a maiden Champions League trophy, the 4-0 victory on Wednesday felt like a moment that City finally introduced itself as the greatest team on the planet.
Billed as the most anticipated club game of the year, City could have been forgiven for some nerves in the early stages, but it started the game at full throttle.
It was one of the most one-sided first halves imaginable, with City dominating every aspect of play – the host had 80% possession in the opening 15 minutes, limiting the visitor to just 13 passes.
Madrid’s star-studded side looked bewildered as City executed a high-press to perfection, hustling midfield maestros Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos into uncharacteristic mistakes.
City’s quality was just on another level, carving Madrid apart whenever it so pleased with Kevin De Bruyne pulling the strings and setting the intensity levels.
“I think that first half performance is one of the best I’ve ever seen,” former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha told Sky Sports.
“When you think about who it’s against. The timing of it, in the Champions League semifinal, that felt like one of the biggest games ever at that stadium.
“It’s a shame it hasn’t led to a trophy because it feels so big.”
If it wasn’t for the impressive Thibaut Courtois in goal, who produced two brilliant saves from Erling Haaland, Madrid could have been even more embarrassed by the break.
In truth, it would have felt relieved to be just two goals down – courtesy of the quite brilliant Bernardo Silva.
Madrid improved in the second half but was still inferior in almost every department as City capped off a memorable night with two more goals from Manuel Akanj and Julián Álvarez.
It would have been an impressive performance against anyone, let alone against the Spanish giant which has won five Champions League trophies in the last nine years.
“It’s unbelievable,” City winger Jack Grealish said, after tormenting Los Blancos’ defense across both legs of the semifinal.
“I don’t think a lot of teams would do that to Real Madrid. I don’t know what it is, but it feels unstoppable.”
Despite all its superiority, City must still navigate Inter in the final and will be careful not to get carried away.
In many respects, despite all his success since arriving in Manchester in 2016, there seems to be a growing agreement that Guardiola’s legacy at the club hinges on winning the Champions League.
He hasn’t lifted the trophy since 2011 with Lionel Messi and Barcelona, and his City sides have found an array of ways to crash out of the competition in recent seasons.
Last year, Madrid produced a stunning comeback, scoring two goals in the 90th and 91st minute before beating City in extra-time in the return leg of the semifinals on its way to winning the trophy for a record 14th time – and it was a moment that has clearly stuck with Guardiola’s squad.
“I had the feeling these last days we had a mix of calm and tension to play these types of games,” Guardiola told reporters after the match.
“After 10 or 15 minutes, I had the feeling that all the pain that we had during last season was there today. It was so tough and hard here last season.
“You have to swallow poison and swallow everything, be kind and football and sport always gives you another chance.
“Football and life always gives you an opportunity and the important thing is to never give up and try again.”
City now finds itself just three games away from sporting immortality – with a Treble very much on the cards.
A win against Chelsea will see it crowned Premier League champion on Sunday. It will then face fierce rival Manchester United in the FA Cup final on June 3, before all eyes turn to the Champions League Final in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 10.
Only one English team, Manchester United, has ever achieved the historic feat, but you’d be brave to bet against Manchester City in its current form.
While many will have reservations about City’s success, owing to its controversial UAE ownership and allegations of financial breaches, its performances on the pitch are undeniable and the team may be about to enter a new era of European dominance.
by tyler | May 17, 2023 | CNN, football
Ivan Toney, the star striker for English Premier League club Brentford, has been suspended from soccer and fined £50,000 ($62,407) due to “breaches of The FA’s Betting Rules,” England’s Football Association announced on Wednesday.
Toney, who has started 33 games this season and scored 20 goals for the Bees, helping Brentford into ninth place in the table, has been banned for eight months following a personal hearing and investigation by an independent commission.
According to the FA, Toney “was charged with 262 breaches of FA Rule E8 in total between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. The FA subsequently withdrew 30 of these breaches and he admitted to the remaining 232.”
Rule E8 in the FA’s handbook highlights the rules around betting.
CNN has reached out to Toney through his representatives for comment.
Earlier this year Toney made his international debut, coming on as a substitute in England’s Euro 2024 win against Ukraine in a Group C qualifying match at Wembley stadium.
Brentford said the club was aware of the eight-month ban decision and is awaiting the written report from the independent Regulatory Commission who ruled on the case.
The FA said that the “Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course.”
Toney will miss Brentford’s trip to Tottenham on Saturday and the final day of the season at home against league leaders Manchester City on May 28.
According to the FA, Toney can return to training only with the Bees for the final four months of his suspension starting September 17.
