Toney summoned by England after gambling ban

MANCHESTER: Brentford striker Ivan Toney was handed an immediate England recall on Thursday after serving an eightmonth ban for breaching betting rules.

Toney returned to action in January and has four goals in nine games.

England coach Gareth Southgate included the forward in his squad for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium this month.

Toney was banned last May after breaching 232 English Football Association betting rules and also fined £50,000 (RM300,000).

Toney played for the first time this season on Jan 20 and scored in Brentford’s 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

It is almost exactly a year since his last England appearance, a 2-0 win against Ukraine in a European Championship qualifier.

Southgate said Arsenal defender Ben White did not want to be considered for the squad. White left the 2022 World Cup early for “personal reasons.”

“For me, that is a great shame,” Southgate said. “He is a player we took to the Euros, a player we took to the World Cup, and I spoke to him post-qatar because I wanted to pick him. I want that door wide open. He would be in this squad but he’s not available to us and I have to focus on who can help us.”

Also with a shot of making Southgate’s squad for the

European Championship in Germany this summer were Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite and Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon after their first summons.

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez was called up for the first time since 2020.

There was no place for Kalvin Phillips, who has endured a difficult start to his loan spell with West Ham. England play Brazil on March 23 and Belgium on March 26. Both games are at Wembley.