Toney ‘WASN’T left out of England World Cup squad due to betting rule breaches’

GARETH SOUTHGATE was reportedly not told to leave Ivan Toney out of his England World Cup squad by FA chiefs.

The Brentford striker could face a huge ban after it was alleged he broke the FA regulations 232 times between February 2017 and January 2021.

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SunSport revealed earlier this month that Toney was at the centre of a match-betting probe.

And the FA statement confirming the misconduct charge was announced on Wednesday – six days after the forward missed out on Southgate’s England World Cup squad.

He was called-up for the last international break but failed to win his first cap in the Nations League clashes with Italy and Germany.

Toney has 58 goals in 105 appearances for Brentford including ten in 14 this term, but it was not enough to earn a call-up for Qatar 2022.

However, ITV are claiming that FA CEO Mark Bullingham did not tell Three Lions boss Southgate to snub Toney as a result of his gambling charges.

And they go on to state that he actually insisted that it was solely Southgate’s decision.

Despite his disappointment, Toney seemed in the mood to party as he attended Rolando Aarons’ birthday bash earlier this week.

Aarons, who turned 27 on Wednesday, posted on Instagram images from his bash.

And one of the pictures shows Toney all smiles in a blue shirt, jeans and trainers.

Aarons opted for a white silk shirt and pale trousers while they were joined by Maidstone United striker James Alabi.

He spent nine years on the books at Newcastle from 2012 to 2021 – and was therefore a team-mate of Toney’s for three years between 2015 and 2018.