Ivan Toney Banned For Eight Months For Betting Rule Breaches

Ivan Toney of Brentford has been given an eight-month suspension from any football-related activities for breaking the betting laws.

Toney has been suspended with “immediate effect” after the Football Association indicted him in November with 262 alleged violations spanning four years.

The 27-year-old England international was fined £50,000 ($62,000) and given a mid-January suspension after admitting to 232 violations.

“Ivan Toney has been suspended from all football and football-related activity with immediate effect for eight months, which runs up to and including 16 January 2024, fined £50,000 and warned as to his future conduct for breaches of The FA’s betting rules,” an FA statement said on Wednesday.

“The Brentford FC forward was charged with 262 breaches of FA Rule E8 in total between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. The FA subsequently withdrew 30 of these breaches and he admitted to the remaining 232.”

Toney was given the penalties by an impartial regulatory body, and he won’t be permitted to train with his Brentford teammates until September 17.

Toney won’t be available for Brentford’s final two games of the season against Manchester City and Tottenham on Saturday.

Toney has 35 appearances for Brentford this season and 21 goals in his one England cap, a victory over Ukraine in March. Toney was not included in Gareth Southgate’s team for the World Cup in Qatar, despite having previously played for an England squad.

The squad would suffer a great loss without him since his goals were crucial in their ascent to ninth place in the Premier League going into their last two games.

Brentford will wait for the publication of the written reasons for Toney’s ban because taking their “next steps”.

“Brentford FC notes the decision of an independent Regulatory Commission to issue an eight-month ban from all football and football-related activity to Ivan Toney with immediate effect,” a statement said.

“Brentford FC is currently awaiting the publication of the written reasons of the Independent Regulatory Commission. We will review them before considering our next steps.”

Toney is not the only well-known athlete to be suspended for betting-related offenses.

The FA fined and suspended English defender Kieran Trippier, who is currently playing for Newcastle, for 10 weeks in 2020 for disclosing information that allowed others to wager on his move from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid.

Joey Barton, a Burnley player, was given an 18-month suspension in 2017 that was later reduced to 13 months after an appeal. He had admitted to putting 1,260 bets on football over ten years.