Simon Jordan believes Brentford have grounds to not pay Ivan Toney’s wages after FA ban but insists deal could be struck

talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan has claimed that Brentford do not need to pay Ivan Toney during his eight-month ban.

The striker is suspended after breaching the Football Association’s betting rules and is now set to be out of action until early 2024.

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The Sun

Toney has also been given a £50,000 fine, with a statement saying he has been ‘suspended from all football and football-related activity with immediate effect’.

talkSPORT understands that Brentford expected a ban of such nature, and they will continue to pay his wages whilst he’s suspended.

However, Jordan believes that the Bees do not necessarily need to do so as their star striker begins his ban.

Speaking on White and Jordan, he said: “With respect to Ivan, there are other victims in this equation, like Brentford, who have done nothing wrong that now have a player who is probably costing them £70,000-a-week on a contract at a key time in both his development and with only a certain time left on his contract.

“Brentford now have a decision to make whether they are legally obliged or morally obliged to continue paying his contract over this eight-month period.”

Jim White then put the former Crystal Palace owner in such a position and asked him if he would pay the 27-year-old.

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“It’s a conversation I’d have with the player,” he replied. “I would say to him, ‘Listen, I’m pretty sure I have the ability to not pay you for this because you’ve brought the club into disrepute and you’re not available to do your job – subsequently, that surely doesn’t mean I should have to pay you’.

“But here’s flipside of that argument – then you have a player who doesn’t feel the way he should towards the club, even though he’s the person who has created this situation.

“So I’d be saving to Ivan, ‘Am I going to be paying you, only for you to come back in January and want a big move out of the door because some of the big six clubs will be interested in you? Or are we going to be paying you because you and I are going to talk about a new contract that protects my position with you?’

“But you also have to remember that Ivan Toney has made a big contribution to that football club where his performances and his goals have put them where they are, even with this hanging over him.

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“Ivan has hurt himself and he’s hurt his football club and the biggest victim of this situation will ultimately be Brentford, because they will now lose arguably their best player for half of the season, which could have knock-on effects.

“And the irony of it is the player could come back and suddenly decides he wants to leave, and then Brentford get the benefit of bleedin’ nothing besides the transfer fee!”

Toney has been a crucial part of Brentford’s success this season, scoring 20 goals in the Premier League.

His efforts have helped guide Thomas Frank’s side to 9th in the table, an impressive achievement considering they were playing in the Championship in 2021.

However, they will have to make do without Toney for their final two games of the season against Tottenham and Manchester City, and until the new year.