Brentford supporters have called on the club to drop Hollywood Bets as its shirt sponsor, accusing them of failing to support star striker Ivan Toney.
Toney received an eight-month ban from football in May after being found guilty of betting offences. The 27-year-old admitted 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules, dating back to 2017. A psychiatry expert provided evidence to the FA commission, diagnosing Toney with a gambling addiction.
At the time the Bees backed Toney, who scored 21 goals in all competitions last season, and promised to do “everything possible to provide support” for the England international. In April it was announced that clubs would have until the end of the 2025/26 season to get rid of front-of-shirt sponsorship deals with gambling companies.
However, unveiling their new home shirt for the upcoming campaign on Tuesday, Brentford left many fans disappointed by sticking with Hollywood Bets. Their red-and-white striped Umbro kit still has the South African betting brand prominently displayed on the front, and will be worn for the next two seasons until the ruling comes in to play.
One fan wrote: “Really disappointed the club has continued with the Hollywood Bets sponsorship. Given the Toney situation, here was an opportunity to take a different path. Was looking forward to getting a Premiership era shirt, but still won’t buy one until there’s a different sponsor.”
Another wrote: “How can the club say they are behind and supporting Toney yet we continue to have a gambling sponsor?”
“Nice shirt, awful sponsor. Can’t wait till it’s gone,” one fan tweeted below the announcement. “Sponsorless shirt available?”
“Love the shirt but might have to wait a year to see if you’ve changed sponsors by then,” another wrote. Another simply added: “Bin the sponsor pls”.
The Daily Mail reported in March that Brentford were ‘actively looking’ for a non-gambling sponsor. That search appears to have ended without success. Mirror Football have contacted Brentford to request comment on the matter.
The Bees began their relationship with Hollywood Bets in November 2020 when they became the club's betting partner. They then moved to the front of the shirt in July 2021 upon the club's promotion to the Premier League. Sportcal reports the deal is worth around $3million (£2.36m) per year.
Brentford’s shirt sleeve sponsor is Pension Bee and the online pension provider is on the front of their junior shirts. The club says of Hollywood Bets: “As South African’s [sic] Premium betting brand, having expanded into UK recently, Hollywoodbets bring their years of experience, energy and love of the community to Brentford.”
After the Toney verdict was handed down in May Brentford said in a statement: “The club will now be doing everything possible to provide support to Ivan and his family to deal with the issues raised in this case. “Conversations regarding this and all matters relating to the case will remain confidential in order to protect the player and his family.”
Aston Villa also signed a new shirt deal with Asian betting firm BK8 earlier this year while Everton, Bournemouth, Burnley, Fulham and West Ham all have contracts in place for the coming season. Villa chief executive Christian Purslow explained: “The commercial reality is that to teams outside the top six, such sponsors offer clubs twice as much financially as non-gambling companies."
