"Toney, what's the odds, Toney, Toney, what's the odds".

This is a chant that has become a custom for opposition supporters to direct at Brentford centre-forward Ivan Toney. It has been ongoing since the Premier League's resumption in December after the media had leaked that he was under investigation from the FA a month prior. 

It had been alleged in November that the 26-year-old had breached the FA's betting laws on an initial 232 occasions, which was later upped to 262 alleged breaches, between February 2017 and January 2021. Since then, he has become a prime target for abuse. 

And while cupping his ears in the direction of the travelling support after scoring from the spot against Bournemouth, getting one over them during a 2-0 win in January, it is near impossible for him to escape the antagonism. 

In what should have been a private investigation, which Toney emphasised in a statement released on his Instagram this week, a second leak came out stating that he had pleaded guilty to a number of charges and is set to face a six-month ban. 

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank expressed his joint disappointment with Toney and questioned the timing of the 'leaks', given the first came so close to Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad announcement and the second now coming with international fixtures ahead.  

"The timing of the leaks, just before the World Cup [and] just before the March international break. The talk about there being a potential ban as long as up to six months, that disappoints us.

"We share the disappointment of Ivan that talked about Ivan trained badly with the England squad. What’s that?

"It’s his first time with the England squad, I’ve never met a player that don’t want to do everything they can out there on the training pitch, never met a player that don’t want to do well to impress the gaffer.

"I can only talk about Ivan what I see here every day and around the place. He’s a fantastic person around the group, he’s got that unique emotional intelligence to be aware of the lowest players and to the top players, and every staff member, and he trains well.

"For me, he’s clearly number two in England as a striker. It’s proven with the goals and performances."

When asked if he was aware of an impending ban, Frank responded: "No. I do not know anything about that." 

Toney shining despite mounting public pressure 

Having already surpassed his tally of 12 Premier League goals last season, Toney has 14 to his name so far and is third in the race for the Golden Boot. Albeit being 13 goals behind Erling Haaland, the centre-forward is having the season of his career. 

He has produced dominant performances away to Manchester City and Arsenal, and it caused uproar when he was not called up for Southgate's squad for the World Cup in Qatar. 

Despite the lengthy investigation, which has been ongoing since early 2022, Frank heaped praise on the player for his application and being at the forefront of Brentford's unlikely push for Europe. 

"He’s amazing in many, many aspects and the way he copes with pressure or distraction and, this is, of course, a bigger one, is amazing," he said. 

"This has been ongoing since November, and he just carried on scoring goals, performing for the team, driving the team. [It's] so remarkable."

Frank later added: "It’s like life sometimes, things get thrown at you and you need to deal with it. I would say that we share the disappointment of Ivan in terms of the leaks that are from a confidential case, so that surprised me massively."

The 26-year-old has been in frequent communication with Frank and club Director of Football Phil Giles, with the Dane emphasising that the club is doing everything they can to support him. 

“Of course, we as a club do our best to help our players, and of course there has been talks with me and Ivan, and Phil Giles about the situation. [We’ve] tried to manage it in the best possible way. Of course, the details in it we will keep to ourself, of course.” 

Frank concerned with football's close relationship with gambling

Football's relationship with gambling is seen as a cancer within the game. The sport is concerningly open to promoting a service, be it through the donning of a company's logo on the front of a club's shirts, rebranding the stadium, or other sponsorship means, that a large number of their consumers is either addicted to or legally unable to use. 

Brentford are no saints in the matter, sponsored by Hollywoodbets, with a variety of gambling sponsors in the past. They are also owned by Matthew Benham, a man who earned his fortune through professional gambling and his company Smartodds.  

Frank expressed his concerns about how close football's relationship with gambling is and he feels that there needs to be more education on the matter and "clear rules". 

"I think it’s an issue that football and betting are so closely linked. Also in other sporting industries. I think it’s not right, from my perspective, and I think there was some really good articles from iNews and the Guardian about the influence of gambling for footballers and what it does. 

"I think the education part, in general, is crucial for everyone, because there has been a lot of cases where it potentially could have been different."