Former Peterborough United striker Ivan Toney pleads guilty after being charged with 262 breaches of FA betting rules

Toney was charged with 262 breaches in December and is now believed to have pleaded guilty to many of those but not all and is contesting others.

The 26-year-old forward now looks set to serve a lengthy ban from the game before the end of the season, with a disciplinary hearing set to be imminent.

His Brentford side sit ninth in the Premier League table, well clear of the relegation places by 14 points. Toney is third in the league’s scoring charts with 14 goals.

All of the alleged breaches took place while Toney was playing in the Football League, including for Posh between 2018 and 2020.

The breaches of FA rule E8 occurred between February 25, 2017 and January 23, 2021.

The rule states that: “A participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in or in connection with a football match or competition or any other matter related to football anywhere in the world.”

There has been no suggestion that Toney bet on matches he was involved in.

The news is likely to further postpone a potential England debut for Toney. England face Italy and Ukraine in European Championship qualifying next month.