English football stakeholders have been accused of “having their cake and eating it” due to the sport’s relationship with betting companies, and Brentford striker Ivan Tony risks a long-term ban after violating betting rules during the Football Association’s four-year period.
The 26-year-old reportedly accepted some of the FA’s 262 gambling violation charges between 2017 and 2021, but denies others in what observers called a “complicated case.”
Tony responded to the allegations a few weeks ago and will continue to play pending an FA disciplinary hearing. The player and his club are facing some form of suspension, but no hearing date has been set, although a decision is thought to be imminent.
However, James Grimes, senior coordinator of the Big Step campaign, which aims to end all advertising and sponsorship of gambling in football, considers the punishment imposed on Tony to be hypocritical given the proliferation of gambling companies in English football.
“I think that just says everything you need to know about gambling and football, as what he really wants is to get his cake and eat it,” Grimes said. I. “He wants to raise money to attract millions of young fans to online casinos and also to crack down on the football players who inevitably play.
“If you have football players who are forced to advertise addictive substances on their jerseys, play in stadiums or compete for trophies named after gambling companies, football players will inevitably play because they are human and this environment will ultimately affect on people.
“Football authorities have an obligation to take care of their players, they are not just a commercial club created in order to earn as much money as possible.”
Eight of the 20 Premier League clubs this season have gambling-related sponsors on the front of their shirts, including club Toney’s Brentford, while others have gambling company logos on their sleeves.
A series of delays in the government’s proposed reforms in a white paper for the gaming industry, which would include rules on sports sponsorship, have allowed clubs to secure new deals with gaming companies in the meantime.
Brentford have been sponsored by South African company Holywoodbets since the start of the 2021/22 season, while three other top clubs – Bournemouth, Everton and Fulham – announced new shirt sponsorship deals last summer.
Meanwhile, the English Football League, which comprises the three divisions below the Premier League – the Championship, League One and League Two – has been managed by Sky Bet as title sponsor since the 2013-2014 season, with an existing deal running until the end of 2023. -24.
“There should be rules for footballers who play football for fairness, and I am not saying that [Toney] should go free,” says Grimes.
“But there has to be some merit in the fact that football itself allowed this to happen. The reason why this happened is not accidental. It is inevitable that this will and will continue as long as the gaming industry holds football so tightly.”
Premier League clubs sponsored by gambling companies
- Bournemouth — Dafabet
- brentford – Hollywood bets
- everton – Steak.com
- Fulham -W88
- News — SBOTOP
- Newcastle – FUN88
- Southampton – Sportbet.io
- western ham – Between
Tony has scored 14 league goals and was called up to the England squad earlier this season and the suspension will be a huge blow to Brentford, who have the longest unbeaten run in the division and could qualify for European football next season.
There is some uncertainty about possible sanctions Tony could face in his rather unprecedented case. Joey Barton was suspended for 18 months, later reduced to 13 months on appeal after he admitted he made 1,260 bets in ten years, but Kieran Trippier only received a 10-week ban for sharing information about his transition from ” Spurs to Atlético Madrid. .
I understands that some Premier League clubs feel that gambling rules for players are not in line with the gambling industry and are sending “ambiguous messages”.
The FA has placed a total ban on “everyone associated with football”, including players, coaches and club staff, from playing in all aspects of the sport around the world and from sharing “insider information” via word of mouth, social media or email.
The draconian rules are partly based on the feeling that football is a small world and that the circles players and club staff move in are small enough to find information about all sorts of events that the general public would not know about.
“This will not be an isolated incident, just someone gets caught,” added Grimes. “I have no doubt that there are dozens if not hundreds of footballers in the UK who fight against gambling and football has a lot to answer for. The damage done is unforgivable.”
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.