Ivan Toney has been suspended from football and all football activity for eight months

Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been suspended from all football-related activity with immediate effect for eight months and fined £50,000 for breaching The FA’s Betting Rules.

The FA released a statement to confirm the news on Wednesday afternoon.

It reads: "Ivan Toney has been suspended from all football and football-related activity with immediate effect for eight months, which runs up to and including 16 January 2024, fined £50,000 and warned as to his future conduct for breaches of The FA’s Betting Rules.

"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."

A statement on Brentford's official website reads: "Brentford FC notes the decision of an independent Regulatory Commission to issue an eight-month ban from all football and football-related activity to Ivan Toney with immediate effect.

"Ivan was charged with breaches of FA rule E8 and had a personal hearing earlier this week.

"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."

Back in November, England international Toney released a statement confirming he was assisting the governing body with its investigation after it was reported that he had been gambling on football games.

“I’m aware of a story about me in a national newspaper today,” he tweeted. “I have been assisting the FA with their enquiries and will not be making any comment until such investigation has reached its conclusion.”

According to FA rules, players operating at Premier League, Football League, National League, Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship levels are “prohibited from betting, either directly or indirectly, on any football match or competition that takes place anywhere in the world."