A manager has escaped punishment after gambling almost £1million, including bets on football.

The manager, whose real name cannot be disclosed due to legal reasons, has only been issued a warning by the Football Association (FA). The news comes after Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo was given a suspended five-month ban and fined £20,000 after admitting 375 breaches of the FA’s betting rules.

Toffolo’s offences occurred between 2014 and 2017 when he was under contract at Norwich and he has not had a bet in more than six years. Brentford striker Ivan Toney, meanwhile, is currently serving an eight-month ban after admitting 232 breaches between 2017 and 2021.

He was also fined £50,000 and will not be able to play again until January 2024. The manager in question, who is currently in charge of a club in the top four flights of English football, has not been handed a similar punishment to either Toffolo or Toney.

According to the Athletic, the manager had eight betting accounts and admitted he had an addiction during a court case last year where former footballers Alan Rogers and Steven Jennings were accused of trying to blackmail him.

As a result of the court case, the manager was granted anonymity. Rogers, best known for his time at Nottingham Forest, was charged with one count of blackmail as well as perverting the course of justice. Jennings, meanwhile, was charged with two counts of blackmail and one of perverting the course of justice.

They both denied the allegations and the charges were later dropped after the manager decided he no longer wanted to give evidence. According to evidence heard in court, it was revealed the manager had bet £879,000 in a two-year period with losses of £270,000.

The majority of the bets were on horse racing, but the court was also told he had made a “handful” of bets on football as well. After the court case collapsed, the FA were given access to all of the police evidence but ultimately decided against imposing a ban or fining the manager.

The FA typically come down hard on those within football who are caught betting on the sport, with Jack Colback fined £25,000 for placing just one bet on a Champions League game between Bayern Munich and Juventus in 2016. Rogers is now planning to sue the manager now that the charges against him have been dropped.

“I’ve never met this fella, never spoken to him, never been in his company, never been in contact, and somehow I’ve been dragged into his gambling addiction,” he told the Athletic last year. “I’m going to sue him now. This has cost me £85,000 to £100,000 in legal fees for something I’ve had absolutely zero knowledge of.”

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