Few of us expected Ivan Toney to break his silence about his recent eight-month ban by The FA on the YouTube Chanel of a sneaker store, however, it was certainly food for thought as Beesotted’s Jim Levack explains.
In an age where most forward thinking, responsible organisations have wellbeing hotwired into their values, the Football Association lags a decade behind.
Anyone reading between the lines of the summary in the Ivan Toney case will see that the player’s welfare came a dim and distant second to making an example of the man.
There’s been little in the aftermath of the eight-month ban – the FA blazers wanted 18 and to hell with any mitigating addiction evidence – that they give a fig for his mental wellbeing.
My views of the ban haven’t changed since the frenzy and noise that accompanied it from a media pack that Ivan has now, probably quite sensibly, chosen to ignore.
This way, there’ll be no spin, no disingenuous questions, no making a name for the likes of Piers Morgan wannabees seeking to bask in the reflected glory of an exclusive.
Bottom line… he’s a fool for gambling on the game that gives him his bread and butter. He’s savvy enough to know that. But equally if he has a problem, then he should be offered help.
Instead, as he reveals in a quirky You Tube interview with Kick Game, he’s become a cause celebre for all the wrong reasons – deluged with offers from a media circus that has only its own self interests at heart.
He’s cute though and this will be part of a process that helps him realise who his real friends are… the ones that support him until next January and a return he predicts will be “frightening” for opposition sides.
That’s not him being cocky. You need a certain swag to be a footballer and even more to be one of the best English goalscorers in the country. It comes with the territory. You can’t have one without the other even though he’s managed to stay true to his roots.
We saw how the looming threat of a ban affected him before it was meted out. It didn’t. And his demeanour in the video – his first public comment since the penalty was announced – suggests he isn’t going to go quietly, whatever the FA might want.
I’ve spoken to him several times post-match and for all his orange trousered bravado and street talk, he’s a humble bloke with parents who’d knock him into shape if he got – his words – “too big for my boots”.
I suspect he’s also a caring and quite emotional bloke too – his and his family’s excitement at the England call up proof enough – and is learning fast that the people worth caring about are those that care for you.
That’s where the detailed support and care package put in place by Brentford will be invaluable in the coming months. It’s a human show of solidarity that, hopefully, he will recognise further down the line.
The decision to ban him from training with his team-mates or even visiting his employer is draconian, no almost medieval, in its severity and again, raises huge question marks over the FA’s duty of care.
If someone has a problem in the modern world, ostracising them from their support network is arguably the worst thing you can do. The suits trot out the integrity of the game argument, but for many it lost that one long ago by cuddling up to an issue that is slowly coming back to haunt them.
For even the normally diplomatic England boss Gareth Southgate to slam this aspect of the verdict shows just how out of touch the FA is in a footballing world that’s spiralling beyond their control as they sit glibly by and watch.
Gambling is rife and they do nothing to mitigate against it. Yet the Toney case was a perfect opportunity to get him involved in an education programme to raise awareness of the pitfalls. But, but, but… we need the revenue, you can almost hear the behind closed doors refrain.
His unexpected appearance on this sneaker channel’s You Tube provided a glimmer of hope that all will be well for Ivan’s future… no thanks to the game’s main body.
He’s a strong character with a solid group behind him, but he’s also human, complicated and perhaps not as single minded as he appears.
He ends his chat with an acceptance of his situation, insisting It seems “a bit harsh” not to be able to train or be around the team, before adding “hopefully” he will come back stronger with the right people around him.
 It’s that “hopefully” that Brentford, the very antithesis of the FA, will try to protect Ivan from. And they will, because theirs are values built around people.
“Don’t feel sorry for me,” he says, and he means it. One day we’ll all look back at this spell in his life and career and say it was the making of him. If anything, he’ll have more of a point to prove to the FA.
Only a fool would bet against him not making the World Cup 2026 squad.
Jim Levack
