Grimes handed eight month ban
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DROGHEDA UNITED defender Shane Grimes has been handed an eight month ban by the Disciplinary Panel of the Irish Sports Council after testing positive for a prohibited substance following a random doping test earlier this year.
The 25 year old tested positive for the banned substance “methylhexaneamine”, otherwise known as MHA after the 1-1 draw with Bohemians on May 11th , he then approached the Players Football Association of Ireland to admit unknowingly consuming the stimulant in an energy drink called “Jack3d”.
The Disciplinary Panel acknowledged that he had made a mistake and gave him the reduced eight month ban which the player has accepted.
A statement by the player released through the PFAI thanked the association’s general secretary Stephen McGuinness for his help and also expressed relief at the Disciplinary Panel’s acceptance of his version of events.
He also cautioned other athletes to be vigilant in checking the contents of any substance they may consume.
“Today is a day of mixed emotions for me. In the first instance, I am extremely disappointed that my season has ended early and that I won't be able to help my team mates for the remainder of the year. However, this is balanced with feelings of relief and gratitude that the Sports Council panel accept that I did not knowingly take a performance enhancing drug.
“Let me say that this is the last thing I would ever have considered doing. There is no doubt that I was guilty of carelessness and that I should have taken more care before ingesting the energy drink in question but I think that anyone who knows me would accept that I am a fair competitor who loves playing football. The idea that anything would jeopardise that fills me with horror.
“The most important thing now is that lessons are learnt from this. If this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. I would urge that all players and sports people check and double check what they put into their body, no matter how harmless it may seem.”
Drogheda United have released a statement saying while they were shocked that one of their players was involved they also fully supported the Irish Sports Council’s handling of the affair and would welcome Shane Grimes back into the squad following his ban.
“Everyone in the club, but most especially Mick Cooke and the coaching staff, were shocked and hugely disappointed to have had one of our players involved in such a case.
“While accepting Shane Grimes assertion that he made a genuine mistake in not ensuring that the supplement he was taking was ‘safe,’ Drogheda United fully supports the Irish Sports Council’s handling of this matter.
"The Club understands that the regulations exist to protect the integrity of football and the long-term health of our players. It is every player’s responsibility to ensure that any supplements or medication that they are proposing to take do not contain any ingredient on the banned list. We will work closely with the various bodies in future to make sure that the message gets through to all players.
“Having learned this tough lesson, our hope is to see Shane return in a Claret & Blue jersey next season.”
