Team Fury has issued proceedings in the High Court to defend doping charges brought against heavyweight champion boxer Tyson Fury and his cousin, Hughie Fury, by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) on 24 June. “The two boxers strenuously deny taking any performance-enhancing drugs”, said Lewis Power Q.C. in a emailed statement. “However, during the last five weeks, leaks about these charges have appeared in the press and both boxers have been the targets of continual abusive language on Twitter”.

At the time, Hennessy Sports and Team Fury denied doping after an article appeared in the Sunday Mirror. ‘We are baffled by today’s story in the Sunday Mirror’, read a statement. ‘Tyson Fury absolutely denies any allegation of doping. He looks forward to recovering from his injury and defending his titles against Wladimir Klitschko in October’.

It is understood that the charges date back to urine samples taken from both boxers in February 2015, nine months before Tyson fought and won his initial world heavyweight titles match against Wladimir Klitschko. Although UKAD has not released details of the tests it performed on Team Fury, both boxers allege that testing of the samples in March and May show contradictory results. They argue that one test of each boxer’s sample showed traces of anabolic steroid nandrolone, while the other sample showed no traces. ‘In addition, both boxers were tested regularly – in Tyson’s case on some seven other occasions between May 2014 and November 2015’, continued Team Fury’s statement. ‘All these tests were negative even though traces of nandrolone, if taken intravenously, would normally be detectable in the urine for many months thereafter’.

Team Fury has asked the High Court to adjudicate on the following issues. As can be seen, it appears that a contaminated dietary supplement may have been at fault:

• the reasons for UKAD’s delay in bringing charges,
• the consequences of that delay,
• whether or not UKAD told Team Fury in September 2015 that no charges would be brought against the boxers;
• whether or not UKAD told Team Fury at that time that the contamination of a dietary supplement  – was the most likely explanation of the adverse test results;
• whether the High Court and/or the National Anti-Doping Panel has jurisdiction over this matter.

“In response to public comments made by Tyson and Hughie Fury’s representatives, UK Anti-Doping can confirm that both boxers were charged on 24 June 2016 with presence of a Prohibited Substance”, said a UKAD spokesperson in a statement. “Mandatory Provisional Suspensions were imposed pursuant to Article 7.9.1 of the UK Anti-Doping Rules. The UK Anti-Doping Rules allow athletes to challenge the imposition of a Provisional Suspension and the independent National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) today lifted the athletes’ suspensions, pending full determination of the charges. These charges will be heard at a hearing before the NADP in due course.”