Carlow footballer Ray Walker confirms anti-doping violation
Wednesday 29 April 2020 08:57, UK
Carlow footballer Ray Walker has confirmed he has broken anti-doping violations.
The Barrow-siders footballer has accepted a four-year ban, but stated that he did not intentionally take the banned substance which showed up in a test in February.
"My name is Ray Walker. I am 35 years old and returned to the Carlow senior football panel last November following a long absence. I am the player who is at the centre of recent reports about an anti-doping violation," he said.
"In light of the four-year ban which I now have to serve, which ends my inter-county career, and most likely my club involvement given my age, I want to put the following on the record.
"I did not intentionally take any banned substance. Anything that was found in my system was there completely unintentionally. I cannot explain for sure how the substance came to be in my system but I was taking anti-inflammatories for a lower stomach issue around the time of the test.
"I am accepting the four-year ban because I want this episode over and done with and, at 35, even a lesser ban would still mean I was unlikely to ever return to playing. It is not an admission of intentional wrongdoing on my part in any way."
He also noted that since he returned to Turlough O'Brien's county panel last winter, he did not receive any education surrounding anti-doping.
"Finally, from the time that I re-joined the Carlow panel in November to the time the test took place in February, I did not receive any anti-doping training or education," he added.
"I will be making no further comment on this matter and would appreciate that the media would respect my privacy in this regard."
