A rugby union player and nightclub doorman has been sanctioned with a two year ban by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) after returning an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a metabolite of cocaine. Daniel Matthews, of Bargoed RFC, argued that his AAF was due to biting his nails, after having come into contact with a cocaine user whilst working as a nightclub doorman.

Laboratory staff accepted that Matthews’s AAF was consistent with use of cocaine out of competition. ‘It could not be determined whether inadvertent use of cocaine as described by Mr Matthews was more likely than recreational use of a larger dose of cocaine at an earlier point in time than suggested by him’, reads the full decision (click here to download).

In other words, because it couldn’t be determined that Matthews’s explanation for his AAF was more likely than recreational use of cocaine, he was sanctioned with a two year ban. Matthews’s ban will run from 24 March 2018 until midnight on 23 March 2020.