Nottingham Forest defender, Harry Toffolo, has allegedly been charged 375 times by the Football Association (FA) over breaches of betting rules.
According to local and national media, the breaches occurred between 22 January 2014 and 18 March 2017, during which time Toffolo played on loan for Swindon Town, Rotherham United, Peterborough United and Scunthorpe United.
Toffolo is suspected to have breached Rule E1 (b), which encompasses a range of misconduct offences, from general behaviour to compliance with decisions.
Regarding the specific betting rules in the FA Rules of Association, 8 (a) states: “A Participant shall not, either directly or indirectly, bet, or instruct, permit or enable any person for the Participant’s benefit to bet, on the result, progress or conduct of a Match or Competition in which the Participant is participating or in which the Participant has any influence, either direct or indirect.”
The second part of the betting rules, in 8 (b), states: “A Participant shall not use, or provide to any other person any information relating to football which the Participant has by virtue of his or her position within the game and which is not publicly available for, or in relation to, betting.”
However, if the accused can prove that any bets placed that breach these rules were on authorised and registered football pools, then the wagers will not be considered unethical or illegal in any way.
The FA states that: “Misconduct under Rule E1(b)-(f) shall be dealt with under the Regulations for Football Association Disciplinary Action.”
Toffolo will have until 19 July 2023 to provide a response.
