Brentford striker Ivan Toney bet on his own team to lose on 13 occasions as reasons for ban revealed

The full reasons for Ivan Toney's eight-month ban have been revealed, with a psychiatrist ruling that the Brentford striker has a gambling addiction.

The England international striker has been found guilty of breaching FA Rule E8 on 232 occasions between February 2017 and January 2021 - during which time he played for Scunthorpe and Wigan on loan from Newcastle, before joining Brentford permanently in 2020.

Toney will remain out of action until January 16, 2024.

A statement on the Bees' official website reads: "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."

Brentford have been presented with the full documentation relating to Toney's case, with there no evidence to suggest that the 27-year-old was ever involved in influencing the outcome of a match.

The documents read: "The present case is not one of match-fixing. If it was, the charges would have been pursued under different provisions. There is no evidence that Mr Toney did or was even in a position to influence his own team to lose when he placed bets against them winning - he was not in the squad or eligible to play at the time."

The document continues by saying: "The commission finds that a significant reduction should be made to reflect the diagnosed gambling addiction identified by [psychiatrist] Dr [Philip] Hopley. The lack of control the player has in respect of gambling is clearly a reflection of his diagnosed gambling addiction."

While Toney was never involved in match-fixing, he did bet on his own team to lose on 13 occasions in seven different matches between August 2017 and March 2018 – although he was not involved in any of the matches concerned.

The documents in his case state: "No evidence ... in a position to influence his own team to lose when he placed bets against them winning – he was not in the squad or eligible to play."

Brentford have vowed to do all they can to assist Toney during a testing period in his personal and professional life, adding: "The club will now be doing everything possible to provide support to Ivan and his family to deal with the issues raised in this case. Conversations regarding this and all matters relating to the case will remain confidential in order to protect the player and his family.

"We consider this matter closed and look forward to welcoming Ivan back to training in September and seeing him representing Brentford in the Premier League in January."

Among the other serious charges include Toney betting on himself to score when it was not public knowledge that he would be in the team, which could have led to a lifetime ban.

Indeed, Toney's sanction was reduced from 15 months to eight months, following his guilty plea.