Brentford striker and reported Manchester United target Ivan Toney has been suspended until January 16, 2024 by the Football Association (FA) after being found guilty of breaching the FA’s betting rules. The Englishman was caught in 232 cases of betting on football games between February 2017 to January 2021.

Manchester United Target Ivan Toney Banned for Betting Offences

What Did The FA and Brentford Say About the Ivan Toney Ban?

The ban will come as a huge blow for Toney, who was enjoying a prolific season with Brentford and attracting major interest from elite Premier League clubs like Manchester United, and it represents a huge transfer twist for the attacker as his immediate future had until now been unclear.

The FA have confirmed that alongside the ban, Toney will also need to pay a £50,000 fine for his offences and he has also been given a stern warning about not repeating his mistakes. They said in a statement: “The Brentford FC forward 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.

“His sanctions were subsequently imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission following a personal hearing. He is permitted to return to training only with his club for the final four months of his suspension starting from 17 September 2023. The independent Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course, and The FA will wait to review them before commenting further.”

Brentford has responded to the ban as well, stating that they are currently awaiting the publication of written reasons from the FA for their step before deciding what they want to do with the striker, who will not be able to train with them before September either.

Ivan Toney Faces Major Blow in His Career

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The 27-year-old striker has had a bit of a fairy-tale story in English football, having played at the lower divisions for clubs like Northampton Town and Peterborough United before hitting the big time with Brentford.

He played a major role in helping Brentford get promoted to the Premier League in the 2021/22 season and has taken the Premier League by storm – having scored 32 goals and provided 9 assists in 66 appearances across the past two seasons. Toney, who was hailed as a ‘remarkable player’ by Brentford boss Thomas Frank earlier this season, scored 20 goals in 33 Premier League games this season – but this suspension could be a huge blow to his career.

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‘Remarkable’ 21-Goal-a-Season Manchester United Target Hit With Eight-Month Ban in Huge Transfer Twist