Paddy Kenny appeal rejected
Sheffield United's Paddy Kenny is an Irish international goalkeeper
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Tuesday, 20, Oct 2009 03:48
By Alistair Potter.
Sheffield United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny has been told he must serve his full nine-month suspension for failing a doping test in May.
Kenny tested positive for the banned substance Ephedrine when he gave a routine sample following his side's Championship playoff game against Preston North End at the end of last season.
And despite mounting an appeal against the ban, claiming the substance had been ingested after taking an over-the-counter medicine, Kenny was banned from football until next April.
"The appeal board dismissed the appeal by Mr Paddy Kenny against his nine-month suspension for a breach of the FA doping regulations," a statement from the governing body read.
"The regulatory commission's decision to impose a nine-month suspension was an appropriate measure of the seriousness of the offence."
In its initial decision, the Football Association defended the severity of the ban after conceding that the player had not taken ephedrine to enhance his performance.
"A professional sportsman, including a football player, has a strict responsibility to ensure prohibited substances do not enter his/her body," the FA said.
"In this instance Mr Kenny knowingly ingested an over-the-counter medicine above the prescribed dosage without reading the accompanying package or leaflet and without reference to his club's doctor or other medical staff.
"It is incumbent upon all professional footballers to understand the perils and dangers of so doing and to act in the way he did, contrary to the doping control programme delivered by the FA and in any event what should be a matter of common sense for a professional sportsman, showed in our judgment a complete disregard for those responsibilities."
In response to today's announcement, Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell said he is "very surprised by the outcome".
"At this stage we do not understand why it has been decided," he added.
Kenny remains contracted to the Blades, although he will be unavailable for selection for the majority of the 2009/10 season.