Thomas Frank has warned the FA that more must be done to tackle the impact of gambling in football ahead of Ivan Toney's expected ban for alleged betting breaches.
And the Brentford boss admits it is "unbelievably hard" to accept Toney being punished for his alleged breaches whilst he still has to suffer sickening racist abuse on an almost daily basis.
Toney, 27, 'admitted' multiple charges of breaching FA gambling rules earlier this year and is expected to receive a lengthy ban from English football's governing body. The Bees striker was charged by the FA in November over 232 alleged breaches of betting rules, with a further 30 being added the following month.
The majority of the alleged breaches Toney has been charged with came during his time playing in the EFL: a league sponsored by Sky Bet. And the striker - who was named in Gareth Southgate's latest England squad last week - plays in a kit which advertises 'Hollywood Bets' every week in the Premier League.
Frank admits that alone sends mixed signals - and that in a "perfect world", he'd rather have less money and no betting company on the Bees' kits.
Speaking to The Mail, Frank said: "When Ivan runs out with the name of our sponsor on his shirt, it sends mixed signals to everyone that football allows betting companies. There should be some rules from the Government to prevent that. There is better gambling awareness now and safe gambling but there is much to be done.
"Then look at the other side: Ivan scores and he goes on Instagram and the abuse he gets is utterly horrific. He is on the receiving end of more malicious intent than he has given out and yet he will be the guy who takes the hit. That is unbelievably hard.
"I would like to think this debate will save other players for the future. The rules are right but have players got the right education? Are we all clear about what is permitted and what is not permitted?"
It was confirmed earlier this month that Antonio Neill, a man who sent a racist message to Toney on social media back in October 2022, had been handed a four-month suspended prison sentence and a three-year stadium ban. Frank stresses it's not enough.
He adds: "I understand that they are two separate things and that being racially abused is not mitigation for gambling but it still feels like a confused message. It is hard when it feels as if Ivan is going to be punished more severely for what he is alleged to have done than people who are abusing him.
"I am not talking about serious crimes here, obviously, but what do you do when people step over the line in society for more minor misdemeanours? You get them some education or you get a suspended sentence. If you do it again, then boom, it should be punished. You should not put a player in football prison for what he has done. It is about educating people.
"If you ban Ivan from football for six months, that is the football equivalent of putting him in prison for six months. This is what he is having to face. The level of education that we get — all of us — around the gambling rules is not the same as the education that is given about racial abuse."
