Ivan Toney, the star striker for English Premier League club Brentford, has been suspended from soccer and fined £50,000 ($62,407) due to “breaches of The FA’s Betting Rules,” England’s Football Association announced on Wednesday.
Toney, who has started 33 games this season and scored 20 goals for the Bees, helping Brentford into ninth place in the table, has been banned for eight months following a personal hearing and investigation by an independent commission.
According to the FA, Toney “was charged with 262 breaches of FA Rule E8 in total between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. The FA subsequently withdrew 30 of these breaches and he admitted to the remaining 232.”
Rule E8 in the FA’s handbook highlights the rules around betting.
Earlier this year Toney made his international debut, coming on as a substitute in England’s Euro 2024 win against Ukraine in a Group C qualifying match at Wembley stadium.
Brentford said the club was aware of the eight-month ban decision and is awaiting the written report from the independent Regulatory Commission who ruled on the case.
The FA said that the “Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course.”
Toney will miss Brentford’s trip to Tottenham on Saturday and the final day of the season at home against league leaders Manchester City on May 28.
According to the FA, Toney can return to training only with the Bees for the final four months of his suspension starting September 17.