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"I have heard of a few cases" | Damien Delaney's insight on drug ban protocols in football

Earlier this week, former Ireland striker Daryl Murphy revealed that he had once secretly served ...
Raf Diallo
Raf Diallo

22.04 10 Dec 2019


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"I have heard of a few cases" | Damien Delaney's insight on drug ban protocols in football


Raf Diallo
Raf Diallo

22.04 10 Dec 2019


Share this article


Earlier this week, former Ireland striker Daryl Murphy revealed that he had once secretly served a six-week ban for recreational drug use.

"Firstly, I would like to stress that the taking of recreational drugs is something that I don't condone whatsoever," he said in a statement to The Athletic.

"I served a suspension at the beginning of last season for making a bad decision while on a night out.

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"This was an isolated incident which happened out of competition when we had no game. I immediately regretted it."

Former Ireland and Crystal Palace defender Damien Delaney joined us on Off The Ball on Tuesday night. He discussed the protocols around drug-testing in elite-level football.

But first he explained that recreational drug use is not commonplace from what he has been aware of in his time in the Premier League.

"It's not commonplace. I have heard of a few cases over the years and knew of a couple of cases," he said, before explaining the protocol.

In And Out-Of-Competition

"So Daryl Murphy got a six-week ban, so he was obviously tested at the training ground. If you're testing on a Friday morning and you fail it, it's deemed non-competition.

"So you get a short ban. But if you're tested on a Saturday after a game, you're in competition. It's an automatic two-year ban.

"The protocol is that UK Anti-Doping only inform the club of the failure. And then it's up to the club to decide what they want to do with it - whether they want to go public or not.

"So that's why often these things never are made public. Because clubs will often protect the players. But I do know that when you get a ban, you're not allowed in the training ground.

"So often what happens is players will go back to their country of origin or sent to a special rehab clinic somewhere and they say, 'Oh, he has a back injury and he's going back to wherever he's from' or going to a special clinic in another country for example. And he's just sent away for six weeks. [The club] just keep it all in-house."

Delaney also discussed how prevalent testing is in elite football.

"Very regularly. There were periods there where you could be tested eight times a season," he explained.

You can watch Damien Delaney's full discussion on the issue above via our YouTube channel.


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