It's been confirmed that Carlow footballer Ray Walker won't be contesting his four-year ban, despite initially lodging an appeal against Sport Ireland's ruling last month.
The 35-year-old tested positive for the banned substance Meldonium in an out of competition test at training in February but he maintains it was not taken intentionally and is now accepting the suspension.
“Mr Walker has accepted a period of ineligibility of four years commencing on February 18, 2020," Sport Ireland and the GAA have announced in a statement. "In a doping control test at a training session on February 18, 2020, he provided a sample, which tested positive for the presence of a prohibited substance, Meldonium. Mr Walker was notified of the positive test on March 30. On April 1, Mr Walker accepted the imposition of a 4 year ban and waived his right to a hearing.
“On the April 8, Sport Ireland issued its reasoned decision to Mr Walker pursuant to Article 7.6.4, imposing the 4 year ban. The reasoned decision referred to the right of appeal available to WADA, the GAA and to Mr Walker within 21 days of receipt of this decision by these parties. On April 21st, he filed an appeal of the reasoned decision and sought a reduced ban. From media reports on Wednesday, April 28, it appeared that Mr Walker was again accepting a 4 year ban without the need for a hearing and yesterday morning, April 29th, Mr Walker confirmed to Sport Ireland that he had withdrawn his appeal.”
While the Gaelic Players' Association say they'll continue to provide personal support:
"The Gaelic Players Association were notified of an alleged anti-doping rule violation by Carlow footballer Ray Walker on March 30th and of a provisional 4-year suspension for the player.
The player decided to represent himself and responded directly to Sport Ireland. We will continue to offer the player personal support and we appeal for his privacy at this time.
The GPA is fully supportive of the Sport Ireland anti-doping programme to promote clean sport and protect the integrity of our games. We will continue to work to ensure the GAA deliver robust education to all inter-county players and to support the Sport Ireland National Testing Programme."
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