Grassroots player gets 4-year ban in Wales for failed doping test

Mark Jones, a former Cambrian Welfare player in the Wales grassroots leagues, has been banned from all sport for a period of four years following an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) for the presence of a banned substance in his sample.

An out of competition sample was collected from Jones by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) on April 25, 2019, at a club training session in Wales and it returned findings for clenbuterol, an anabolic agent used to gain muscle and burn fat which is banned under the WADA 2019 prohibited list.

It was August 30, 2019, when UKAD charged and provisionally suspended Jones from playing. He accepted the charge but claimed but disputed the sanction claiming he purchased cheap meat in South Wales that must have been contaminated.

The National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) considered the case and issued Jones with a four-year ban from sport on February 7, 2020, which was backdated to April 25, 2019, and will expire on April 24, 2023. Jones appealed the verdict but an NADP appeal tribunal dismissed his challenge on December 24 last and upheld the four-year ban.

In a statement on the WRU website, operations director Julie Paterson said: “It’s vital that players at every level of the game are aware of the risks they are taking if they decide to consume substances of any kind, for performance-enhancing or recreational reasons.”

Pat Myhill, the UKAD director of operations, added: “Clenbuterol is a very powerful substance and is not licensed for human consumption in the UK. It poses a serious risk to health for anyone who takes it. But when it comes to sport, the only reason you would take it is to gain an unfair advantage over your opponents, to cheat, to undermine fair play and the values of sport.

“The NADP investigated and considered Mr Jones’ claims that the findings were potentially the result of meat contamination. However, Mr Jones was unable to provide any evidence to support his claim.”