Ivan Toney has been banned for 8 months after he was found guilty of breaching FA Rule E8 on 232 occasions between February 2017 and January 2021 – during which time he played for Scunthorpe and Wigan on loan from Newcastle, before joining Brentford permanently in 2020.
A statement on the Bees’ official website reads: “Brentford FC has received and accepted the written reasons of an independent Regulatory Commission that handed Ivan Toney an eight-month ban from all football and football-related activity after he admitted breaches of FA Rule E8, relating to placing bets on football.
“The judgement has been published on the FA website. Ivan and Brentford FC accept that offences were committed, and sanctions were inevitable.
“The commission noted that none of the charges related to events where Ivan could negatively impact his own team. The detail is included in the written reasons.”
Toney’s case was fully documented and given to Brentford, but there is no proof that the 27-year-old has ever been involved in attempting to influence a game’s outcome.
The documents read: “The present case is not one of match-fixing. If it was, the charges would have been pursued under different provisions. There is no evidence that Mr Toney did or was even in a position to influence his own team to lose when he placed bets against them winning – he was not in the squad or eligible to play at the time.”
The document continues by saying: “The commission finds that a significant reduction should be made to reflect the diagnosed gambling addiction identified by [psychiatrist] Dr [Philip] Hopley. The lack of control the player has in respect of gambling is clearly a reflection of his diagnosed gambling addiction.”
While Toney was never involved in match fixing, between August 2017 and March 2018, he placed 13 bets for his own club to lose in seven different games, while not taking part in any of the games.
The documents in his case state: “No evidence … in a position to influence his own team to lose when he placed bets against them winning – he was not in the squad or eligible to play.”
Brentford have vowed to do all they can to assist Toney during a testing period in his personal and professional life, adding: “The club will now be doing everything possible to provide support to Ivan and his family to deal with the issues raised in this case. Conversations regarding this and all matters relating to the case will remain confidential in order to protect the player and his family.
“We consider this matter closed and look forward to welcoming Ivan back to training in September and seeing him representing Brentford in the Premier League in January.”
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