Ivan Toney pleads not guilty to Soho nightclub assault charge

Ivan Toney has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a man at a central London nightclub.

The 30-year-old England striker entered his plea at Westminster Magistrates' Court. The charge is assault occasioning actual bodily harm, BBC reported on 1 October.

He is accused of attacking Saber Da Silva at a venue in Wardour Street, Soho, on 6 December. Police later dated the alleged incident to 6 December 2025.

The charge in plain terms alleges a physical attack that caused injury. A not guilty plea means Toney denies the allegation. The case will now move through the court process.

The prosecution followed a Metropolitan Police investigation. Toney was arrested at the scene on suspicion of two counts of assault and one count of affray, then released on bail. The force later announced in its bulletin, 'Man charged with assault at Soho nightclub', that a man described as being of Northampton had been charged, Metropolitan Police.

That charging decision came on 31 July. The allegation was therefore made public almost eight months after the night in Soho.

There has already been one pause in the court timetable. Toney's first hearing over the alleged assault was delayed for a week, ESPN reported in September.

For readers meeting him off the pitch for the first time, Toney is a centre-forward. That is the player whose main job is to score goals.

He has won 10 caps for England. A cap means an international appearance. He was part of the England squad that reached the Euro 2024 final.

He now plays for Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, the top division in Saudi Arabia. He began his career with Northampton Town. He then played for Wigan Athletic and Peterborough United before signing for Brentford in 2020.

Brentford was where most English football fans got to know him. He led the line there in the Premier League and earned his England call-up on the back of his goalscoring form.