Brentford star Ivan Toney has been handed an eye-watering eight-month ban from all football and football-related activities after being found guilty of 262 breaches of the FA's betting rules.
England striker Toney will not be able to play for club or country again until next January, after being handed one of the longest bans in Premier League history.
Ivan Toney: Brentford striker handed eight-month ban
Since Brentford's promotion to the Premier League, Ivan Toney has been one of the biggest stars not just for the Bees but in the entire division.
After starting with an impressive 12 goals in Brentford's debut campaign in the Premier League, Toney has gone above and beyond expectations this season. He has scored 20 goals in the league, putting him behind only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane - both of whom are having all-time great campaigns.
TONEEEYYYYYYY!!!!
Brentford expose Man City on the counter attack as Ivan Toney bags a brace to nick a 2-1 lead with 2 minutes left on the clock!! 🤩#EPL pic.twitter.com/TS4ChhC6J9— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 12, 2022
Toney's goalscoring feats have unfortunately been overshadowed, however, by the lengthy ban handed down to him by the FA.
After initially being charged with 232 breaches - said to have occurred between 2017 and early 2021 - Toney was then charged with an additional 30 breaches in December of last year.
Toney was expected to be in high demand during this summer's transfer window but, with the striker now banned until January 16 2024, he is unlikely to see a move away from the Brentford Community Stadium. It will also hugely undermine any push to work his way into Gareth Southgate's squad for EURO 2024 - should England qualify.
He is not the first Premier League star to have been banned for breaking betting rules, with Kieran Trippier (ten games) and Daniel Sturridge (four months) both serving lengthy bans in recent years for instructing friends to bet on potential transfers.
There are only three bans in Premier League history, however, which either equal or surpass the enormous length of Ivan Toney's eight month ban.
In 2004, Rio Ferdinand was banned for eight months after leaving training without conducting a mandatory drugs test, while Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Bosnich was baned for nine months in 2002 after testing positive for cocaine.
If you never heard Jonathan Pearce's radio commentary of Eric Cantona's kicking the 𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧 before give this a listen.pic.twitter.com/nPmC9TCDQX
— 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙖 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙨 - aka Larry 🇾🇪 (@Cantona_Collars) January 25, 2023
The longest ban in Premier League history, however, remains the infamous nine month ban handed down to Eric Cantona in 1995. In a game against Crystal Palace, Cantona was sent off and received abuse from the Palace fans as he left the pitch. He then lept into the crowd and launched a kick at the chest of a particularly vocal fan in the Selhurst Park front row.
It's a hammer blow for Brentford to lose their star man for so long, and unfortunate for Ivan Toney as he finally began to build some momentum towards an England spot.
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