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Missing World Cup a bigger blow than ban, says Ivan oney

The Brentford player cannot play for club or country until 16 January
The Brentford player cannot play for club or country until 16 January

Ivan Toney said being unable to represent England at last year's World Cup was a heavier punishment than the lengthy ban he is serving for breaching FA's betting rules.

The 27-year-old Brentford striker, who finished the season as the third-highest scorer in the Premier League, was handed an eight-month ban and fined £50,000 (€58,400) after admitting to 232 breaches of the rules, which included betting on matches he played in.

Toney was charged by the FA last November and missed out on a place in the England squad for the World Cup in Qatar.

"Even though I miss eight months of football, that was the biggest punishment, to miss out on a World Cup - everyone's dream - it is bigger than missing eight months of football," Toney told Kick Game YouTube channel.

The FA's independent regulatory commission said the sanction had been reduced to eight months from 11 due to his young age and gambling addiction.

Toney, who has been capped once for England, cannot play for club or country until 16 January 2024 but can return to training for the final four months of his suspension starting from 17 September.

"The support is good, but how I am, I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me," he added.

"I done what I done before, the punishment is the punishment and get on with it. Like I said I just have to focus on when I come back training. I want to be a different animal when I come back. It's going to be frightening."

Kevin Schade has signed a five-year contract with Brentford

Meanwhile, Brentford have completed the permanent signing of German forward Kevin Schade for a club-record fee believed to be around €23m.

Schade, 21, initially joined on loan from Freiburg in January and has now signed a five-year contract.

Brentford director of football Phil Giles said: "When Kevin joined us on loan in January, we agreed with Freiburg that the move would become permanent this summer if certain conditions were met, which included Brentford remaining a Premier League team for next season.

"We have all been pleased with Kevin’s contribution so far, both on the pitch and his professionalism off it, so to have him with us now until 2028 is fantastic for the club.

"We all hope both Kevin and Brentford can make further progress from here and look forward to the challenge."

Schade made 19 appearances for the Bees over the second half of last season.

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