Harry Toffolo’s deteriorating mental health and belief that his football career was over were “very substantial mitigation” for him breaching Football Association betting rules, according to an independent regulatory commission.
Toffolo was given a suspended five-month ban after admitting 375 breaches of FA betting rules and was also fined just under £21,000. The Nottingham Forest full-back placed the bets between 2014 and 2017.
In written reasons published by the commission, it was stated Toffolo – who admitted the charge in full – placed 202 bets on matches in competitions in which his clubs were participating or had participated. There were also two spot bets placed by the player on events which involved himself as well as 15 identified to have been made against his own clubs.
Of the 375 bets, he staked £1,323.92, averaging £3.53 per bet. His total return was £956.22 – a loss of £367.70.
Toffolo placed a bet on himself to score in the 2015 League One play-off final at Wembley for Swindon, who lost 4-0 to Preston.
The independent regulatory commission accepted Toffolo’s explanation of having placed that bet “in excitement”.
The commission found Toffolo began placing bets on football, as well as other sports, when he was 18 and stopped at 21, with stakes “generally small”. He lost money overall, although he did profit from certain categories of bet.
There was no suggestion Toffolo was involved in match fixing or benefited from “any particular inside information” and he was “driven principally, if not exclusively, by his own belief as to what the outcome of a particular match or event might be”.
In the witness statements served on Toffolo’s behalf and also his own oral evidence, it was demonstrated the player “had a number of very difficult times in the period” when he was coming to terms with being told, during January 2014, he did not feature in the plans of then-Norwich manager Chris Hughton but could also not go out on loan to gain experience.
The commission reported “as a result he perceived that his future at NCFC (in the U23 development squad) looked bleak” and it was around that time Toffolo began gambling, partly to “alleviate his low mood but principally because he wanted to ‘fit in’ with players who were claiming to be gambling regularly and successfully”.
Following a loan move to Stoke, Toffolo said away from the pitch he “struggled with his mental health for a variety of reasons” which led him to gamble with increasing frequency.
The player also talked about feelings of loneliness when staying in a hotel during a short-term stint at Rotherham and that he became depressed when sent out on loan to Preston until the end of the 2015-2016 season, when he considered his career in football “to be over”.
The commission accepted there “appears to have been a link” between the state of Toffolo’s mental health and his gambling and noted when he joined Scunthorpe in August 2016 he “thrived far better”, with his family having also made the move. The frequency of his gambling decreased considerably and eventually stopped altogether.
On the basis of the evidence, the commission concluded the bets placed by Toffolo during the relevant periods “were the result, at least in large part, of the significant mental health challenges” he endured over those periods.
The commission found, with the support of his family and those around him and with external help from a sports psychologist, Toffolo made huge efforts to “turn things around”.
“That he did so, and did so so successfully, is a credit to him and, we hope, might serve as inspiration to other participants who might find themselves struggling with mental health issues,” the commission’s statement added.
On the sanctions, the commission stressed Toffolo’s breaches were “significant” and could not be described as “trivial despite the low stakes involved”.
While there was “substantial mitigation”, the commission felt a sporting sanction was nonetheless “appropriate and proportionate in light of the serious nature of the breaches committed over a lengthy period of time”.
It was acknowledged the suspended sanction could be viewed as “too lenient” but was concluded the “particular circumstances of this case justified the nature, duration and terms of the suspension”.
Forest have declined to comment on the sanctions imposed on Toffolo.
Manager Steve Cooper was among those to provide evidence to the commission, describing the defender as a ‘true professional’ and family man who has a positive impact on the dressing room and in the wider community.
The sanctions on Toffolo follow the imposition of an eight-month ban on Brentford striker Ivan Toney in May for breaches of FA betting regulations.
Silva grateful Fulham's dominance was rewarded with late win
Marco Silva believes Fulham claimed a "deserved win" against Brentford, though admits they should have secured the three points much earlier in their 2-1 victory.
It looked like Vitaly Janelt's 24th-minute strike against the run of play was going to wrap up all three points for Brentford, but Harry Wilson proved the Cottagers' hero off the bench, scoring twice in stoppage time to snatch the three points.
Fulham had dominated from the first whistle and had 26 shots, 12 of which were on target, though they struggled to find a way past their opponents' staunch defence until the 92nd minute.
Wilson became just the sixth player to score an equalising and match-winning goal from the 90th minute onwards in the Premier League, while his second goal was Fulham's latest-ever Premier League winner at 96:46.
Silva was delighted with how his team pushed until the final seconds to ensure they came away with a win.
"It was definitely a deserved win. We started on the front foot and dominated all the game. In the first 20 minutes, we had two clear chances to score," Silva told BBC Sport.
"After they scored, we didn't lose the confidence and the trust in ourselves, we kept pushing them back, and we created enough to not be losing at half-time.
"I told the players this is football, it can happen, but we have to keep pushing, working hard and playing our way.
"It was late, it should've been much before, but that's football."
Brentford, meanwhile, have now dropped a league-high 14 points from winning positions in the Premier League as they suffered a fifth consecutive away defeat in the competition.
In fact, they are the first side in the competition's history to score the first goal in four consecutive away games and lose all four.
They had defended resolutely until their late lapse in concentration, and even had a chance to win it, only for Bernd Leno's impressive save to keep out Fabio Carvalho in the 95th minute.
Thomas Frank, though, admitted he was not yet ready to take the positives from the performance after the disappointment of their late defeat.
"It was tough. It is emotionally very tough right now," Frank told Sky Sports.
"When you are leading in the 92nd minute, and you lose, it is tough. I don't think we hit our highest level. I think on the day Fulham were better.
"There was a lot of good defending and effort, and I thought that would have given us the win. We could have won it with the chance for Fabio Carvalho and then we lost.
"When we look at the game back, and we are more cool-headed, we will probably be very happy with the defensive standard. I thought there were unbelievable blocks, and recovery runs and all that we did well. On the ball, we didn't do enough."
Returning fan favourite Alonso calls Liverpool 'one of Europe's best'
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso hailed his former club Liverpool as "one of Europe's best" as he prepares for his Anfield return.
Alonso, who spent five successful years at Anfield and helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2005, returns to his former stomping ground when Leverkusen take on the Reds on Tuesday.
Arne Slot has won 12 of his first 14 matches in charge of Liverpool, including all three in the Champions League so far.
Leverkusen have only won one of their 11 away major European matches in England (D3 L7), and have lost their last two visits to Anfield, and Alonso is under no illusion as to the scale of the task that awaits the reigning Bundesliga champions.
"For us, it is a big challenge," he said.
"Liverpool at the moment are one of the best, if not the best, in Europe, they are showing that in the Premier League and Champions League, a good squad, great coach. We're looking forward to it. Let's see what happens.
"You can play 70 minutes great but in 20 minutes it [the game] is gone, so it is mentally and emotionally we need to be ready.
"In all areas, they are really strong, so the process works really well. [Slot] has done a fantastic job in three months."
Alonso played 210 times across all competitions for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists.
After winning the Champions League with the Reds in 2005, he helped them reach the final in 2007, though they lost to Milan on that occasion.
However, the Spaniard does not think he will have too much time for a trip down memory lane.
"Unfortunately, there is no time for tourism – maybe a little run or walk," he said.
"I know the city very well, I love it, but tomorrow I will focus on the game and only the game.
"It feels great to be back here after a few years. It's always special. You notice the development of the club; the new stand looks amazing.
"It is a big game against Liverpool, it cannot get much better than that."
The omens are not great for Leverkusen, though.
Liverpool have lost one of their last 21 European meetings with German opponents (W14 D6), albeit that one defeat came against Leverkusen in 2002.
“We want everyone involved”- Chung hoping for massive support for Reggae Boyz in Nations League Quarterfinal against USA
General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, is hoping that Jamaicans come out in their numbers to support the Reggae Boyz during both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League Quarter-final at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday, November 14 and Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday, November 18.
The Reggae Boyz will be looking for revenge over their American counterparts after suffering defeat to them at the semi-final stage of last season’s Nations League 1-3 in extra time. The USA went on to win the whole thing with a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the final while the Reggae Boyz beat Panama 1-0 to claim third place.
If the Boyz are to get over the hump this time around, Chung understands that a massive part of it will be the energy they receive from the thousands of Jamaican fans in attendance.
“We are at the quarterfinal stage. We want to ensure that we are there in our numbers supporting the Boyz because we have to make it past the mighty USA which, after we finish with them, they won’t be so mighty,” Chung said in press conference on Monday.
As such, three support groups for Jamaican football-Reggae Boyz Supporters Club, Reggae Football Fans Club and Reggae Boyz Community, are all making it possible for fans from all over the diaspora to have an opportunity to cheer on the Reggae Boyz live and in person.
“We want to welcome this partnership because this is a way for us now to reach our fanbase. We want to ensure that everyone is involved. At the last two games we had over 17,000 people in attendance and that, for us, is very important. It’s not just about playing football. It’s about getting everybody involved,” Chung said on Monday.
Errol Walters and Louis Grant, members of the Reggae Football Fans Club, were also on hand on Monday and gave an overview of this initiative.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be serving our country in this way. What we’re trying to do is create an opportunity for fans in the diaspora that we use our collective bargaining power to negotiate to go to the games,” Walters said.
“There are times when I’m in London and want to go to a game and I have no one to travel with so it was always my dream to create a database to say listen, who’s going to the game from where,” Walters added.
Grant explained that this idea came about because of the desire of members of the diaspora to be a driving force behind the support of the team on their journey to the World Cup in 2026.
“This was birthed out a desire to be the proverbial 12th man for our football teams and more so for the second iteration of the historic trip to the World Cup. We, as members of the diaspora here in the United States, think it’s only right that we play our part in drumming up support as far as leveraging air travel, accommodation, and support,”
“For example, we’ve been in touch with US Soccer with regards to the game in St. Louis. We’ve gotten a section that we can have all or most of our supporters concentrated to create that ‘Office’ vibe,”
“In my experience, we’ve gone to games in my area and you’d see our supporters and our flag sparsely across the various stadiums and we are of the opinion that if we were more concentrated in one section, it bodes well or it is a better look and feel for our team,” he added.
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