The eight-month suspension handed down to Ivan Toney for breaking FA betting regulations is a devastating blow to both the player and his club, Brentford. The 27-year-old striker was given an eight-month ban and a £50,000 fine by an independent disciplinary committee this week, after pleading guilty in February to the bulk of the 262 betting accusations filed by the FA last year.
The FA withdrew the remaining 60 counts against Toney after he confessed to 232 of them during Wednesday’s announcement of his sentence. A total of 13 times, the forward had wagered that his own team would lose.
Following testimony from a doctor establishing his status as a ‘gambling addict’, an independent committee reduced his sentence to eight months. The length of the suspension will keep him off the field until January 16, 2024.
What is FIFA 23’s final decision on Ivan Toney?
Toney has promised to explain his side of the story shortly after the official grounds for his suspension were made public yesterday. To add an insult to injury, because of the ban, the English striker has just been booted from the FIFA 23 video game.
The Brentford club is no longer allowed to use Toney in its lineup. Supporters have taken to social media to share photos of the team without Toney after he was apparently deleted from FIFA 23 in the latest roster update by the developer, EA Sports.
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Brentford’s Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo are shown in the video game beside Kevin Schade. They are supposedly stepping in for Toney. Interestingly, fans were eager to point out the hypocrisy of EA Sports, who removed a player for engaging in illegal betting while simultaneously promoting gambling as a pastime in the game.
Fifa literally promote gambling to children. This whole thing is so fucking pathetic
Ivan Toney has been REMOVED from #FIFA23 via the latest Squad Update ❌️
