Ivan Toney believes he was made an example of as a high-profile Premier League player.
The Brentford striker was banned for eight months in May after admitting 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules.
Speaking to Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Toney claimed that his punishment was disproportionate compared to what previous, lower-level players had been given for similar offences.
Ivan Toney Is Finally Ready To Speak!
The episode is out now right here:
We discussed everything:
– The 3 clubs that rejected him before Brentford!– His honest opinion on his 8 month football ban!– The unseen impact the ban has had on his mental…
— Steven Bartlett (@StevenBartlett)
“I feel so, yeah,…
Lionel Messi says he did not disrespect Mexico during post-match celebrations following Argentina s World Cup victory last week after incurring the wrath of Canelo Alvarez.
Messi helped Argentina bounce back from a shock opening defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia in Qatar with a 2-0 win at Lusail Stadium on Saturday.
Video footage appeared to show Messi catching a Mexico shirt with his foot in the dressing room after that win, prompting a furious response from Canelo, though the boxing superstar later apologised for his comments.
Messi does not believe he did anything wrong and has nothing to apologise for.
It was a misunderstanding, he stated. Those who know me know that I don t disrespect anyone. These are things that happen in the locker room after t…
Former Brazil defender Lucio has backed Jose Mourinho to overcome his recent difficulties and help Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League.
The reigning English champions sit 12th in the league table with a mere 11 points from nine games, while they have to settle for third spot in their Champions League group for now.
Nevertheless, Lucio is confident his former coach, under whom he won the treble with Inter in 2010, will eventually turn things around at Stamford Bridge.
In Europe, Barcelona, Bayern [Munich], Real [Madrid] play at a very high level. In England also you have Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool who, along with Chelsea, play at a high level, World Cup-winning centre-back Lucio told IBTimes UK.
It is not easy t…
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet has not ruled out managing his former club next season but would prefer to lead Brighton in the Premier League.
Poyet has been manager of Brighton and Hove Albion since November 2009 and has led the club to within striking distance of promotion to the English Premier League this season.
The 45-year-old Uruguayan has received plenty of plaudits for his work on the English south coast and, with Chelsea likely to be looking for a new manager, Poyet has been strongly linked with the job at the club where he played 105 games from 1997 to 2001.
But Poyet would much prefer to make his Premier League managerial debut with Brighton if possible.
When? Where? Time will tell (when he will manage in the Premier League), Poyet said.
are interested in adding Gent s Moses Simon to their ranks, according to Ian Doyle of .
Simon is a 22-year-old winger (turning 23 next month), full of pace and trickery, and manager Jürgen Klopp sees him as a potentially valuable backup option for either Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah. He mostly plays on the left attacking flank but can perform well on either side. He played for Slovakian side Trenčin for a year and a half before moving to Gent in January 2015. He has played 136 games for the Belgian club and scored 21 goals so far. With his contract set to expire in 12 months, it is believed he would be available for around £10million.
The young Nigerian has been left out of his country s national team for the upcoming World Cup as he suffered a hip injury, and even …
Nelson Mandela has signed his first professional contract, agreeing a two-year deal with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Cameroonian striker – whose full name is Nelson Mandela Mbouhom – began his career in the youth ranks at Barcelona before joining Frankfurt in the 2013-14 season following a spell at Hoffenheim.
He has represented Frankfurt at Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 level and a first-team appearance could be on the horizon, having signed a deal at Commerzbank-Arena until 2019.
Mandela, who has been training with the senior side in pre-season, told Frankfurt s official website: I am very happy to get this opportunity. I feel totally comfortable at Eintracht. I am very proud to be able to be part of the preparations.
Sporting director Bruno Hubner…
During a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, defender broke his silence regarding a potential move away from the club. The Italian first made the move over to England back in 2015 when he joined from Torino in a multi-million-pound deal, but now, big clubs like Juventus and Napoli are making plays to try and sign him on a permanent deal.
Darmian noted that while United are a big club, he still wants to be starting games and that simply isn t the case at Old Trafford for him right now. The 28-year-old claimed that he d join the club who offered him the best solution to his ordeal, stating that he was actually close to leaving last year before being talked out of it.
Darmain met with Juventus sporting director last week, but there s always a chance that Napoli …
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said he would rather live in the Maldives than manage Premier League rivals Manchester United.
The EFL Cup semi-finals are headlined by a Manchester derby as Guardiola s City visit United at Old Trafford for the first leg on Tuesday.
Guardiola was in the frame to move to United before swapping Bayern Munich for City in 2016 and the former Barcelona head coach has gone on to dominate English football – winning back-to-back Premier League trophies, consecutive EFL Cups, the FA Cup and Community Shield.
Asked whether he would ever take charge of City s fierce rivals and neighbours, Guardiola – who has been linked with an Etihad Stadium exit – shot the possibility down.
After training City, I would never train United.…
While the Champions League might take center stage in midweek, we have a stacked Tuesday schedule from across England on the cards. So, for those of you looking to stick on a midweek acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Tuesday 13th April
BST 17:30 Huddersfield Town vs Bournemouth
Starting with Tuesday s guests, while Bournemouth might have seen their FA Cup adventure come to an end on home soil last month, The Cherries have found themselves enjoying a real Championship purple patch. Appearing to have found their feet under new boss Jonathan Woodgate, the South Coast outfit have their sights set on securing an immediate Premier League return this season. Managing to find a route back into the play-off spots, th…
Nice have finalised the loan signing of Adam Ounas from Napoli.
The agreement includes an option for the Ligue 1 outfit to buy the 22-year-old.
Attacking midfielder Ounas follows Alexis Claude-Maurice and Kasper Dolberg to Nice amid a flurry of activity since the club was purchased by petrochemicals company INEOS.
The Algeria international has experience in France, having spent two seasons in Bordeaux s first team before his 2017 switch to Napoli.
Adam, tu as un message
— OGC Nice (@ogcnice)
Ounas found opportunities limited at Stadio San Paolo, making six Serie A starts in two years.
His arrival at Nice will help soften the blow of Allan Saint-Maximin s departure for Newcastle United.
Nice won their opening two Ligue…