Footage has emerged of Ivan Toney arrested over an alleged headbutt and led out of trendy London bar in handcuffs.
In the early hours of Saturday morning (7th December), the 29 year old Al-Ahli striker was taken away by police officers from Soho’s 100 Wardour Street venue after allegedly headbutting a fan who had grabbed him for a selfie.
Witnesses described Toney reacting defensively, possibly fearing a robbery due to his high-value jewellery, with the victim suffering a broken nose, as well as a broken ring finger, with blood coming from his nose.
Three people were assessed by ambulance, one hospitalised, with police arriving, arresting Toney on suspicion of two assaults and affray.
EXCLUSIVE: Ivan Toney ‘launched headbutt in brawl’ before video shows him being led away in cuffs 🚨 pic.twitter.com/hF0UJsh474
— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) December 8, 2025
One witness who was out for a drink with his girlfriend said to The Sun: “He walked past a table of a group of lads.
“One of them recognised him and said, ‘Oh, it’s Ivan Toney’ and tried to put his hands around his neck to get a photo with him.
“And then Toney has said, ‘Get off me, get off me’ and ended up headbutting one of the guys.”
The witness added that the alleged victim was left with “blood leaking from the bridge of his nose” and may have felt threatened by the group.
He added: “He’s a superstar — he gets half a million a week in Saudi Arabia.
“He had his jewellery on and he had a real nice watch.
“He might have thought they were trying to attack him to take his chain or watch off him.”
Police arrived at the scenes within half an hour of the incident taking place, with the witness continuing to say: “We noticed about five officers in uniform walking down the stairs.
“And then they’ve gone over to Ivan Toney’s table and asked his name.
“He’s given his name and they said, ‘You’re under arrest for assault’ and then they put his hands behind his back in cuffs and off he went.”
A security guard recalled seeing “a ton of police cars rushing up Wardour Street”, adding: “We normally get that around here but there was a lot of personal security rushing up the street too.”
One bartender said police officers were back in the area the day after to ask people further questions.
London Ambulance Service confirmed that they had sent an ambulance and a paramedic at 1.57am to reports of an alleged assault.
A spokesman added: “We assessed three people. We took one patient to a local hospital and discharged the other patients at the scene.”
The Met Police have stated: “We were called to Wardour Street at 00:47hrs on Saturday following reports of an assault.
“The victim was taken to hospital and his injuries are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.
“A 29-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of two counts of assault and one count of affray.
“He has since been released on bail while inquiries continue.”
Al-Ahli has not commented on the incident, but has since shared a photo of Ivan Toney at a training session on Monday.
A representative for the footballer was approached for comment by various media outlets, as has his club.
Back in July 2025, Ivan Toney spoke of how much he hated London after thieves broke into his Lamborghini while on a break from playing in Saudi Arabia, where he had played since his departure from Premier League club Brentford in 2024.
He returned to the UK during his off-season and uploaded a photo on his Instagram stories, with it showing a window of his Lamborghini Urus – worth up to around £197,000 – smashed.
— النادي الأهلي السعودي (@ALAHLI_FC) December 8, 2025
Sami Mokbel reported that the incident took place during the early hours of Saturday in the West End. He was unable to name the player at the time, for legal reasons.
In the UK, the name of someone who has been arrested is rarely released or confirmed by police, with those arrested only named in “exceptional and clearly identified circumstances”, released if a suspect is charged.
This is an approach put in place after the Leveson Inquiry into the British media back in 2012.
Social media users are being warned over littering platforms with names of footballers trying to speculate over the person arrested.
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