The FA have released the full findings and written reasons behind their decision on Ivan Toney’s eight month suspension from all football and football related activity.
The breaches took place between the 25th of February 2017 and the 23rd of January 2021, during which time he played for several clubs, such as Newcastle United, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United, and Brentford, where he currently resides.
The reasonings behind the eight-month ban vary, however, the most notable breaches occurred between August 2017 and March 2018, where the once-capped England international placed 13 bets on his own team, with seven of those gambling against his team to lose.
11 of those 13 were placed against Newcastle United, whilst the Englishman was on loan at another side. The other two bets related to a Wigan Athletic game of which the player was not involved in the matchday squad, therefore in all 13 instances, it was deemed that Toney was unable to influence the outcome of the match.
The 27-year-old also placed a further 15 bets on himself to score in nine separate matches, in each of these 15, the FA found that they were initiated during a time in which it “would not have been public knowledge that he was starting or playing.”
Finally, the FA revealed that a ‘significant reduction’ to the suspension was made to reflect the players official gambling addiction diagnosis. This reduction decreased the sanction by three months to a suspension of eight months, meaning the ban could have been until April 2024 had he not been diagnosed with the addiction.
Brentford will be without Toney this Sunday, as they host champions Manchester City in their final league game this season. The Bees currently sit ninth, with a victory giving them the possibility of Europa conference league football next season, should other results go their way.
Travis Levison | Get Football
