Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney has been banned from football for eight months over 232 betting breaches.
The 27-year-old will not be able to play for his club or country until his suspension comes to an end on January 16 2024. Toney is not even allowed to train until September 2023.
A statement by the Football Association read:
“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.
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.
His sanctions were subsequently imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission following a personal hearing. He is permitted to return to training only with his club for the final four months of his suspension starting from 17 September 2023.
The independent Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course, and The FA will wait to review them before commenting further.”
It means Toney, who has scored 21 goals in 35 appearances for Brentford this season, is unlikely to move this summer as his suitors are likely to be deterred due to his ban.