Eight-month football ban for Ivan Toney doesn't solve the problem, says Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony

The former Posh star will not be allowed to return to playing until January 2024 and not even to training until September 17 after admitting to 232 breaches of FA betting rules.

Documents revealed that Toney bet on parent club Newcastle to lose nine times while out on loan between 2018 and 2019 and against his loan club Wigan in another match he was not involved in.

The timing of the allegations coming out may have cost Toney a place in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad but will almost certainly scupper his chances of a big money move this summer after finishing the Premier League campaign on 20 goals.

Speaking to talkSPORT about the lengthy ban handed down to Toney, Posh chairman MacAnthony stated that he thought the ban should have been more about rehabilitation and that he fears it sends the wrong message.

He said: “There’s a problem in football and it’s not just Ivan Toney.

“There’s hundreds of footballers right now as we speak betting on football, we just don’t know it.

“Unfortunately, yes Ivan got caught, he shouldn’t have done it, but he didn’t kill anybody.

"If you have an alcoholic, who has a bad addiction, and they need help and you turn around and vilify them, ostracise them and send them out there with no support, what do you think they’re going to do? They’re going to start drinking again.

“He needs the support- yes he was wrong, he made a mistake, but he have to help him. Why he runs around scoring goals with Hollywood Bet on his shirt and why we have Sky Bet all around the stadium is another issue.

“The reality is this, he obviously has an addiction, he has a problem and I’m not sure sending someone out to the middle of nowhere for the next eight months is the right thing to do and the right thing to help.

“He shouldn’t be banned from training, he shouldn't be banned from his friends, his teammates, his manager. Ban him from playing, fine, but what are you trying to do with his character?”

“He was 22/23 out on loan six or seven times all over the country, he sat in digs up and down the country on his own and he was gambling. It’s tough for young men being away from their family. I just don’t think this solves the problem.

“I worry that we as clubs and the PFA don’t do enough. It’s a tough world and many young players don't know how to handle the celebrity status.

“They could have done better with Ivan and said 'It’s an eight-month ban but if you do, this, this and this we’ll take time off for good behaviour.

"Come to us with a plan on how you’re going to show youngsters on how this can happen and if we’re impressed, every time we’ll knock a week off. Give him something to work towards.”