Brentford and England striker, Ivan Toney has said he is ‘naturally disappointed’ after receiving an eight-month ban from football on Wednesday for breaching betting regulations.
Toney, 27, has been banned from all football activity until January 2024 for breaking FA betting rules, coming as a major blow for both the player and his club Brentford.
The England international pleaded guilty to most of the 262 betting charges brought by the FA last year, before an independent disciplinary commission imposed an eight-month suspension and £50,000 fine following a hearing this week.
After admitting to 232 of the 262 charges concerning bets which were placed over a four-year period, he will not even be permitted to train with Brentford until September.
Reacting to the news, Toney broke his silence on social media and expressed his disappointment with the outcome, while vowing to ‘focus on returning to play the game I love next season.’
‘Today I have received notification of my eight-month ban from football following a hearing before an FA Regulatory Commission that took place yesterday,’ he wrote.
‘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.’
Toney’s suspension begins immediately, meaning he will play no part in Brentford’s push for European football in the final two games of the season.
Thomas Frank’s men currently sit ninth, four points adrift of Tottenham in seventh place, with qualification for the Europa League or Europa Conference League still a possibility. They will be without their star striker, who has scored 20 Premier League goals so far this season, for the conclusion of that European bid.
