Brentford striker Ivan Toney banned for eight months after breaching English FA betting rules

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Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been banned for eight months after breaching FA betting rules and subsequently charged with over 250 breaches of gambling regulation between 2017 and 2021. The ban will mean the 27-year-old goalscorer will not be able to play in any football-related activities until January 17, 2024. The player was also handed a £50,000 (€57,600) fine. 

Market Value

I. Toney Centre-Forward

€50.00m

A statement from the English FA read: "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."

Stats

I. Toney Centre-Forward

Brentford FC

Season 22/23–
Premier League

Games

33

Goals

20

Assists

4

Toney is considered one of English football’s most prolific strikers, having come through the lower leagues of the English football pyramid with Peterborough and then Brentford, scoring goals for fun in League One and the Championship, before helping the latter to the Premier League in 2020/21. Since then, Toney has proven himself to be an excellent top-flight striker, bagging 32 goals and nine assists in 68 games. 

Such has been the striker’s impressive rise that Toney’s market value has gone from just €400,000 in late 2020, to where it now stands at a very impressive €50 million. Which not only makes Toney the 12th most valuable striker in world football but also Brentford’s most valuable player. However, should the player see out the entirety of his ban, it seems unlikely that his market value will stay as high as it has been this season.