Brentford player Ivan Toney banned for 8 months after he made 13 bets on his own team to lose 

Ivan Toney has been found guilty of breaking FA Rule E8 232 times between February 2017 and January 2021, while playing for Scunthorpe and Wigan on loan from Newcastle, before joining Brentford permanently in 2020.

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.

Toney’s case was fully documented and given to Brentford, but there is no proof that the 27-year-old has ever been involved in attempting to influence a game’s outcome.

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.”

While Toney was never involved in match-fixing, between August 2017 and March 2018, he placed 13 bets for his own club to lose in seven different games, while not taking part in any of the games.

The documents in his case state: “No evidence … 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.”

Brentford have vowed to do all they can to assist Toney during a testing period in his personal and professional life, adding: “The club will now be doing everything possible to provide support to Ivan and his family to deal with the issues raised in this case