The Football Association announced a week ago that Tony, the England and Brentford striker, was suspended for 8 months and fined 50,000 pounds sterling, for 232 violations of betting rules.
Tony (27 years old and 20 league goals) will not be able to play for club or national team until his suspension ends on January 16, 2024.
The news came as a great shock, especially since the league’s third top scorer this season, behind Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, presented an exceptional level and made Brentford compete for European seats.
New discoveries
After announcing the suspension, the federation revealed, on Friday, the details of the player’s betting, amid talk about his “addiction” state.
The union’s shocking announcement read:
- Tony has bet 126 times on tournaments involving Brentford.
- Tony bet 15 times on his team’s victory during matches in various competitions.
- Tony bet 7 times that his team would lose in matches he did not participate in.
- An independent commission commissioned by the federation also revealed that Tony had an “acute addiction” to betting and gambling.
- The panel found that “a significant reduction in the length of the sentence should be made, because the person has a diagnosed gambling addiction, identified by psychiatrist Philip Hubley.
- The player’s lack of control over their betting is clearly a reflection of their gambling addiction.
- Tony seems to have stopped betting on football, although he still bets on other games and casinos.
- The committee confirmed that Tony has expressed his readiness for treatment after the end of the season, and is preparing to return to the stadiums when the law allows him to do so.
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