EPL: Toffolo charged with breaching FA betting rules 375 times

Nottingham Forest defender, Harry Toffolo, was on Wednesday, July 12, charged with breaching English FA betting rules 375 times.

Harry Toffolo is alleged to have breached the FA betting rules 375 times between January 2014 and March 2017, the FA said. He was under contract at Norwich City at the time and subsequently had loan spells at Swindon, Rotherham, Peterborough, and Scunthorpe.

The footballer who made 19 Premier League appearances for Nottingham Forest last season after signing from Huddersfield, has until 19 July to respond to the charge.

The FA said in a statement;

“Nottingham Forest’s Harry Toffolo has been charged with misconduct in relation to our betting rules.

“It’s alleged that the defender breached FA Rule E1 (b) 375 times between 22 January 2014 and 18 March 2017. Harry Toffolo has until Wednesday 19 July to provide his response.”

Rule E8 prohibits players from betting on games, asking others to do so on their behalf or sharing privileged information for betting purposes.

Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier, then with Atlético Madrid, was found guilty in December 2020 of violating it and was banned from all football-related activity for 10 weeks, also being fined £70,000.

Ivan Toney, the Brentford forward, was banned from football for eight months in May after he admitted 232 breaches of the FA’s Rule E1 (b) which prevents any footballer from making any type of bet on the game.

Toney was charged with a total of 262 breaches but Toffolo’s misconduct appears to be far more serious.

Brentford had been resigned to selling Toney this summer when he enters the last two years of his contract amidst interest from Manchester United and Newcastle after talks over a new deal broke down last autumn, but it is unlikely any club will meet their £50million valuation now given he will miss more than half the season.