Ivan Toney was found guilty of infringing FA Rule E8 232 times between February 2017 and January 2021, while on loan from Newcastle to Scunthorpe and Wigan before joining Brentford permanently in 2020.
As a result, he has been handed an eight-month ban.
“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,” reads a statement on the Bees’ official website.
“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.”
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.”
Toney did not participate in any match-fixing activities, but between August 2017 and March 2018, he placed 13 bets on his own team to lose seven separate games while he was not present at any of the matches.
No proof… in a position to influence his own team to lose when he put bets against them winning – he was not in the squad or allowed to participate, according to the documentation in his case.
Toney is going through a difficult time in his personal and professional life, and Brentford has promised to do everything they can to support him. They said, “The club will now be doing everything necessary to give assistance to Ivan and his family to cope with the concerns brought in this case. To protect the athlete and his family, any conversations about this and other issues pertaining to the case shall be kept private.
“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.”
