Brentford striker Ivan Toney received an immediate England recall on Thursday following an eight-month ban for breaching betting regulations.
Toney made his return to action in January and has netted four goals in nine games since then. England manager Gareth Southgate has included Toney in his squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium this month.
Last May, Toney was sanctioned for breaching 232 English Football Association betting regulations and was also fined £50,000 ($62,000).
An independent commission noted that the punishment could have been more severe had Toney not been diagnosed with a gambling addiction. The commission’s report highlighted a “substantial number of breaches,” noting that some of Toney’s bets could have resulted in a lifetime ban, the maximum penalty.
Toney made his first appearance of the season on January 20 and scored in Brentford’s 3-2 victory against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
It has been nearly a year since his last England appearance, which was a 2-0 win against Ukraine in a European Championship qualifier.
Southgate revealed that Arsenal defender Ben White opted out of consideration for the squad. White departed the 2022 World Cup early due to “personal reasons.” Southgate expressed disappointment, stating, “For me, that is a great shame.
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.”
In contention for Southgate’s squad for the upcoming European Championship in Germany this summer were Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite and Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon, both receiving their first call-ups.
Liverpool defender Joe Gomez earned his first call-up since 2020. However, there was no place for Kalvin Phillips, who has had a challenging start to his loan spell with West Ham.
England will face Brazil on March 23 and Belgium on March 26, with both matches scheduled to be played at Wembley Stadium.
