Ivan Toney out for eight months after being found guilty of betting irregularities
Ivan Toney has been the team's top scorer in a successful season. Picture: Brentford FC
May 18, 2023
Brentford and England footballer Ivan Toney has been banned for football for eight months after admitting to 232 breaches of the FA’s rules on betting.
The suspension begins immediately meaning he will be unable to play for either club or country until 17 January next year.
The 27-year-old will however be allowed to return to training halfway through the ban in September.
As well as the suspension he has been fined £50,000 and warned as to his future conduct for breaches of The FA’s Betting Rules.
Toney issued a statement which says, "I am naturally disappointed that I will be unable to play for the next eight months.
"The written reasons for the Commission's decision have not yet been published, so I make no further comment at this point other than to thank my family and friends, Brentford FC and our fans for their continued support, through what has been a very difficult time.
"I now focus on returning to play the game I love next season."
The offending bets were place between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021 during which time he played for Scunthorpe United, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United as well as Brentford with 262 breaches originally cited. 30 of these were withdrawn with Toney admitting to the remaining 232 in a personal hearing. It is understood that none of the bets would have given him an incentive to play poorly in any match.
The sanctions were imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission who will later publish written reasons for its decision.
The news is a major blow for the Bees as the striker was their top scorer in what has been one of the most successful seasons ever with the club set to finish in the top half of the Premier League. The club’s highest ever position in the topflight was in 1935-6 when it finished fifth.
Brentford says that it will wait to review the report of the Regulatory Commission before considering its next steps.
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