Brentford Star Ivan Toney Made 13 Bets On His Own Team To Lose | Football/Soccer

The full reasons for Ivan Toney’s eight-month ban have been revealed, with a psychiatrist ruling that the Brentford striker has a gambling addiction.

The England international striker has been 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.

Toney will remain out of action until January 16, 2024.

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.”

Brentford have been presented with the full documentation relating to Toney’s case, with there no evidence to suggest that the 27-year-old was ever involved in influencing the outcome of a match.

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.”