England manager Gareth Southgate has called Brentford FC Ivan Toney into his international squad for the first time, despite the 27-year-old Brentford striker facing a ban for breaching FA betting rules.
Toney, who is currently the second-best English goalscorer in the Premier League after Harry Kane with 16 goals this season, is due to play with England in the two Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.
The FA had accused Toney of 232 betting rule violations last November and 30 more in December. The striker admitted the violations himself. However, a disciplinary hearing is still pending.
“He plays for his club and is available,” Southgate said of the nomination on Thursday. “There was no trial or decision, so I don’t know on what basis we shouldn’t nominate him.”
