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Brentford striker Ivan Toney received a reduced ban from football due to a diagnosed ‘gambling addiction‘.
After accepting that he had broken Football Association betting rules, Toney was initially banned for Eleven months.
However, a psychiatry expert who provided evidence to the FA’s regulatory commission diagnosed Toney with a gambling addiction and recommended professional help.
Consequently, the commission reduced Toney’s 11-month sanction by three months. In explaining its decision, the commission noted that Toney had admitted to repeatedly lying during his initial interviews with the FA.
However, it also stated that he had stopped gambling on football and was determined to address his gambling problem through therapy.
The FA had initially sought to impose a 15-month ban on Toney because he had attempted to conceal his betting by using third parties and deleting relevant messages from his phone.
Meanwhile, Toney’s current club Brentford released a statement which read:
“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.
“The judgement has been published on the FA website. Ivan and Brentford FC accept that offences were committed, and sanctions were inevitable.
“The commission noted that none of the charges related to events where Ivan could negatively impact his own team. The detail is included in the written reasons”.
Toney will not eligible for selection until January 2024.
