Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney has been banned from football for eight months for breaking betting rules. The 27-year-old has also been fined £50,000 ($62,000) and warned about his future conduct after admitting to 232 breaches of the Football Association's betting rules. Toney was charged by the FA in November for 262 alleged breaches over a four-year period and has now discovered his punishment. His suspension starts immediately and Toney will not be allowed to play again until January 17, 2024, although he can return to training with Brentford on September 17. The breaches Toney has been found guilty of took place between February 2017 and January 2021, during which time Toney represented Scunthorpe United, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United and Brentford. In a statement, the FA said: “His [Toney] sanctions were subsequently imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission following a personal hearing. “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.” Toney has scored 21 goals in 35 appearances for Brentford this season, improving on his 14 in 37 games in the club's debut top-flight season. His absence will be a huge blow for the team after his goals played a key role in their rise to ninth place in the Premier League heading into the last two games of the season. The Bees are away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday before taking on league leaders and champions-elect Manchester City on May 28, the final day of the season. “Brentford FC is currently awaiting the publication of the written reasons of the independent Regulatory Commission. We will review them before considering our next steps,” the London club said in a statement. The Northampton-born attacker was called up England manager Gareth Southgate last autumn, though he did not make the 26-man squad that travelled to the World Cup in Qatar. Toney did make his Three Lions debut in March when he came on as an 81st-minute substitute for Harry Kane during <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/03/26/harry-kane-on-target-again-as-england-breeze-past-ukraine/" target="_blank">England's euro 2024 qualifying victory against Ukraine</a> at Wembley Stadium.
