third top scorer in the league, Ivan Toney banned for eight months for sports betting

The best season of Ivan Toney’s career turns into a nightmare. Third top scorer in the Premier League with 20 goals, behind Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, the Brentford striker was banned for eight months and fined £50,000 by the English Football Association (FA) on Wednesday 17 May, over sports betting. The forward, who last November dreamed of playing in the World Cup with the English national team, will not be able to return to play until 16 January 2024.

Brentford supporters have known for several months that their forward was facing a potential suspension. Toney announced on his Twitter account last November that he had “assisted the FA in its investigationThe Englishman, who had his first selection with the Three Lions last March, was found guilty of betting on multiple occasions between February 25, 2017 and January 23, 2021, ie. after arriving in Brentford in the summer of 2020.

One of the best forwards in the Premier League

“The Brentford forward was convicted of breaking the E8 rule 262 timeson sports betting, writes the FA in its press release, which specifies that the player admitted 232 offenses in total. The penalty against Toney was “imposed by an independent regulatory commission following a personal hearing“.”Toney can only return to training with his club for the final four months of his suspension, effective 17 September 2023“, adds the instance.

“Brentford FC notes the decision by the Independent Regulatory Commission to impose an eight-month ban on Ivan Toney from all football-related activities, effective immediatelyTop scorer in the English third division with Peterborough in 2020, then in the second division with Brentford the following season, Toney enjoyed his first full season in the Premier League last year with API.

He has established himself as one of the best forwards in the Premier League this season, alongside stars such as Haaland, Kane, Mohamed Salah and Marcus Rashford. His entry into English football’s elite at an older age for a professional player had dazzled the Premier League in recent months. Ninth in the English league, Brentford will have to do without their player for the last two days of the current season and for the first six months of next.