Banned Brentford star Ivan Toney filmed training with Bees back in AUGUST after striking secret deal with FA
BRENTFORD struck a secret deal with the FA to allow Ivan Toney to train at his club — while he was still banned from all football for betting offences.
SunSport’s exclusive video shows the £60million-rated England striker circling a training pitch with a Bees coach on August 1 – SIX WEEKS before he was due back.
But the club insist they were not breaking any rules after receiving permission from the FA.
Brentford said: “Ivan Toney was given dispensation by the Football Association to attend club premises during his suspension from football-related activity for rehabilitation work after he suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss matches in May.”
Toney, 27, was banned for eight months after being found guilty of 232 betting offences in May.
He was not originally allowed to resume training at the club until September 17.
The striker practised with a ball at Bees’ training ground and was then filmed taking part in a solo fitness session with the first-team conditioning coach Matt Bramhall.
Brentford added: “That rehabilitation work involved individual sessions with strength and conditioning coaches and medical staff, including with a football, as per Ivan’s recovery plan.
“There have been no breaches of FA sanctions, all of which were strictly observed by both the club and Ivan.”
Toney is now back training with the Bees as he builds up his fitness ahead of his ban ending on January 17.
The FA’s original verdict stated: “Given the particular requirements for the player to be match-fit by the time the suspension ends, the Commission has ordered that the player be allowed to train with his team from a point four months after the commencement of the suspension period.”
Toney accused the FA of hypocrisy last month over their approach towards mental health.
He said: “The whole football community is big on mental health and then the FA are going to do this and push me away.
“What if someone not as strong as me in the head is going through this situation and their punishment is they are not allowed at the club – that would break them.
“It’s like being in football prison.”
Toney’s first game back is set to be an away trip to Spurs on January 30.
But he may not be a Bees player by then, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all keen on him.
Toney has scored 32 Prem goals over the past two seasons, including 20 last campaign.
Boss Thomas Frank has admitted that his star player could be sold.
Last week he said: “We are a selling club, if the right price is there, if it’s the right time for the player to go.
“If they have developed well with us, been on the journey and now they’re proven good enough to go to the top clubs, then it’s the right thing.”