Brentford striker Ivan Toney has reportedly admitted to multiple charges that breached the Football Association’s betting rules.
It was revealed in December that the 26-year-old has been handed 262 charges in relation to betting offences.
The alleged breaches stretch from 2017, when he was at Newcastle, to 2021 following his move to the Bees from Peterborough.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Toney has pleaded guilty to many of the charges that are against him.
The report adds that an FA disciplinary hearing is said to be imminent, with the striker also contesting some of the charges.
He is thus expected to be set for a lengthy ban that will begin before the end of the current campaign.
The Mail’s chief sports reporter, Matt Hughes, who broke the story, told talkSPORT: “I think his back was against the wall from what I’ve been told given the number of charges he was facing and the extent of evidence they collected.
“I think it was a five-month investigation took place into his alleged betting and charging him with so many count, they clearly felt they had a very strong case.
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“I think he’s hoping to get ahead of it by pleading guilty to some, contesting others in the hope that maybe the ban, if he’s given a ban, will start sooner rather than later and therefore will apply over the summer which means he will miss fewer football matches.”
When asked about how long the ban could be, Hughes added: “I think it is a matter of months rather than games based on the precedence of a couple of Boston players that were found guilty a couple of years ago for I think, again, several hundred betting breaches and they were done for I think over six months.
“Joey Barton obviously got 18 months a few years ago for over 1,200 bets. The truth of the matter is we don’t actually know the detail of what games he is alleged to have bet on and if he was involved with them, that will be the key.
“We know he didn’t bet against any of his teams when he was playing but it’s possible, and I stress we don’t know, it’s possible he bet on a teammate to score or some sort of level of involvement.
“They would be seen as aggregating factors which could lead to a bigger ban if that were the case.”
Toney has been the subject of a lot of transfer interest given his performances for Brentford and a ban could therefore affect future interest.
Hughes said: “I think he’s unlikely to get a move this summer because whatever ban he is given is likely to still be in place at the start of next season I would have thought,
“You’re not going to be a £50-80million player if you can’t play him are you? I don’t think it’s the end of his career, I think he will get a big move from Brentford at some point.
“He’s only 26, he’s playing so well and if he takes his punishment, serves a lengthy ban and comes back towards the start of next season or halfway through next season.
“I still think there will be big bidders coming in for him next January or the following summer, but unlikely to be this summer.”
Such an absence would see him miss out on the chance to play for England in their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine in March.
It could also impact the rest of Brentford’s season given his 14 goals in 21 Premier League appearances so far this term.