SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The FA has suspended Ivan Toney for eight months after he admitted to 232 breaches of the association’s betting rules.
The Brentford forward will not play for his team this year, and won’t be available for selection until 26 January 2024. The final four months of the ban will see Toney available to train with the club again, but prior to this, he will be banned from all football activity.
Toney, although admitting guilt to the breaches, has previously voiced his disappointment with the process leading to the ban, specifically when it comes to alleged leaks by the FA.
In March, a statement released by the 26-year-old striker on his Instagram account informed followers that his lawyer’s were ‘writing to the FA to request that they conduct a leak inquiry’.
The Premier League club has now revealed that it is awaiting the written reasons of the independent Regulatory Commission and will then review them before considering next steps.
Toney followed up by tweeting that he is ‘naturally disappointed’ describing the recent period as being very difficult before adding that he is awaiting the written reasons for the decision before making a full response on the decision.
Whilst the charges came from the FA, the decision came from an independent commission made up of senior figures from the world of sport and law.
Toney – who narrowly missed out on being part of England’s World Cup squad last year – was originally issued with a £50,000 fine and warned as to his future conduct for breaches of The FA’s Betting Rules.
Originally the striker was hit with charges of 262 breaches of FA Rule E8, however 30 of these charges were withdrawn.
The suspension is significantly longer than Kieran Trippier’s 10-week punishment two years ago, after the full back was found to have breached rules that prevent players from providing inside information.
The defender was found to have informed friends about move from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid, with some subsequently betting on the transfer. Trippier was charged with seven breaches of FA betting rules.
