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Ivan Toney, a striker for Brentford and England, said he is 'naturally unhappy' after being banned from sport for eight months on Wednesday for breaking betting rules.
Toney, 27, will be prohibited from participating in any football-related activities until January 2024 due to breaking FA betting rules. This is a big setback for both the player and his team Brentford.
The England international pleaded guilty to the majority of the 262 betting-related offences filed by the FA last year, and this week, an independent disciplinary committee sentenced him to an eight-month suspension and a £50,000 fine.
He will not even be allowed to train with Brentford until September after pleading guilty to 232 of the 262 charges related to bets that were placed over a four-year period.
Toney broke his social media silence in response to the announcement and expressed his dissatisfaction with the end result while pledging to "focus on returning to play the game I love next season."
After an FA Regulatory Commission hearing yesterday, he wrote, "Today I have received notification of my eight-month ban from football."
"Naturally, I am regretful that I won't be able to play for the upcoming eight months.
"I will say nothing more at this time other than to express my gratitude to my family, friends, Brentford FC, and our supporters for their unwavering support during what has been a very trying time until the formal justifications for the Commission's decision are made public.
"I am now concentrating on coming back to play the sport I adore next season."
Toney's punishment is effective immediately, therefore he won't take part in Brentford's attempt to qualify for Europe in the season's final two games.
The potential of qualifying for the Europa League or Europa Conference League still exists for Thomas Frank's team, who are presently ninth and four points behind Tottenham in seventh place. For the end of that European bid, they won't have their top striker, who has scored 20 goals in the Premier League so far this season.
