England prop Stevens banned for two years

Eurosport - Fri, 27 Feb 13:14:00 2009

England prop Matt Stevens has been banned for two years after a routine doping test showed he had used cocaine.

Matt Stevens - 0

Stevens failed the test after playing a Heineken Cup match for Bath against Glasgow in December and was provisionally suspended in January, pending Thursday's independent judicial committee hearing in Glasgow.

"After considering the evidence, and in light of Mr Stevens's admissions, the committee determined that an anti-doping rule violation had occurred in that the player's sample had contained benzoylecgonine and methylecgonine, which are metabolites of cocaine," an European Cup Rugby statement said.

Cocaine is classified as a stimulant and is a prohibited substance under both the Heineken Cup's anti-doping programme and Word Anti-Doping Agency's code.

The South African-born 26-year-old, who has played 32 times for England including every match at the 2007 World Cup, was removed from the RFU's Elite Player Squad when the doping violation came to light.

Stevens admitted at the time he was attending counselling sessions for a drug problem.

The RFU, which fully supports the WADA code, said it strongly condemned the use and distribution of prohibited substances while Stevens received little sympathy from England team manager Martin Johnson.

"I have said all through this episode that there is no place in sport or society for illegal drug use," Johnson said in a statement.

"Matt chose to take a banned substance and will now have to accept the consequences. He will not be involved in rugby for two years and for a professional sportsman that will be a very tough experience.

"Matt has admitted that he has a problem and is seeking help. We support him in that but all rugby players must understand that they are responsible for their actions, and that includes lifestyle choices."

Stevens, who declined his right to have his B sample tested, will be ineligible from all rugby related activities until January 2011.

Bath said they would not make any statement on Stevens's future with the club until they had held an internal hearing.

Reuters

Comment 78 - 97 of 97

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  1. Cocaine damages muscle tissue, for a rugby player, as­ any other athlete, to take coke is suicidal, risking­ severe damage to the heart tissue and the further risk­ of heart attack during a match owing to athletic strain­ on the heart. Silly, silly lad.

    From Tarquinius S, on Mon 2 Mar 5:14PM

  2. ALL ENGLISH FOOTBALL
    PREMIER LEAGUE – FA CUP – CARLING­ CUP
    CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – UEFA CUP

    ALL MATCHES ON­ INTERNET: PREMIER LEAGUE, FA CUP, CHAMPIONSHIP,­ CARLING CUP, LIGA, SERIE A, BUNDESLIGA, CHAMPIONS­ LEAGUE - UEFA CUP AND MUCH MORE

    ALL THE HIGH LIGHTS­ OF PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES

    From WWW.PREMIERSHIP.ALTERVISTA.ORG, on Fri 27 Feb 7:09PM

  3. i am gutted.i am a huge fan of rugby and of matt­ stevens but he knew the cosequences for taking coke and­ must pay the penalty.he has been banned for 2 years but­ is getting loads of help and support from the rfu­ behind the scenes .as for the comments on lawrence,he­ was never tested positive for any drug use,he just got­ caught bragging about it.

    From MEXICAN, on Fri 27 Feb 12:58PM

  4. this isn't a Richard Bacon lapse of concentration.­ The guy has a habit for which he is seeking help. He­ has also accepted the ban. If anything this makes him a­ good role model - if you do drugs you end up messing­ your life up! All the talk of "shaming­ England" etc is utter nonsense. It's very easy­ to say "I would do that" when it isn't­ you. Many people have addictive personalities and they­ need help - whether it's drugs, alcohol, gambling­ or sex (Stan Collymore is a prime example). In most­ sports, the player would get support (football­ especially) but how is Matt supposed to get help and­ kick the habit when everyone turns their back on him. I­ fully support Matt for admitting his problem and trying­ to get it sorted. Good luck in your recovery Matt and I­ will applaud you in an England shirt when you are back­ and drug-free.

    From BOB, on Fri 27 Feb 12:06PM

  5. ALL ENGLISH FOOTBALL
    PREMIER LEAGUE – FA CUP – CARLING­ CUP
    CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – UEFA CUP

    ALL MATCHES ON­ INTERNET: PREMIER LEAGUE, FA CUP, CHAMPIONSHIP,­ CARLING CUP, LIGA, SERIE A, BUNDESLIGA, CHAMPIONS­ LEAGUE - UEFA CUP AND MUCH MORE

    ALL THE HIGH LIGHTS­ OF PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES

    From WWW.PREMIERSHIP.ALTERVISTA.ORG, on Fri 27 Feb 11:56AM

  6. I dont recall D'lo getting a 2 year ban! he lost­ the England captaincy but i cant remember anything else

    From Robert F, on Fri 27 Feb 10:29AM

  7. Also with a nose like his, that must of cost a fortune­ to fund his coke habit!!! The bloke could smoke a cigar­ in the shower and it wouldnt get wet!

    From adamridgeway, on Fri 27 Feb 10:23AM

  8. He broke the rules he pays the price, thats the way it­ goes. He'll be back in a few years just like­ Lawrence Dalligio when he got done for drugs. Such a­ shame a professional player like Stevens has to resort­ to drug use to get his kicks. Theres a thousand people­ out there who would love to play for his country and­ make his country proud, ban the idiot for life!!!!!!!­ Im a Bath fan too!!!

    From adamridgeway, on Fri 27 Feb 10:21AM

  9. The "Standard Response" is an indicator of­ the blithering idiots we allow to make the rules. If­ this drug-use enhanced performance then the sanction is­ understandable. Linking it to "social" drugs­ is wrong. Simply because it is easy to detect through­ permitted routine drug testing does not justify the use­ of the result to reinforce Government "Social­ engineering" messages. Imagine if everyone who­ used Cocaine was banned from working for 2 years? To­ what end? Is socially-responsible drug use either wrong­ or dangerous? Excess alcohol-use certainly is.

    From THOMAS T, on Fri 27 Feb 10:02AM

  10. So what if everyone else does coke, too? That's­ even more Columbian human rights abuse, then. Nice one­ for sponsoring it.

    Apart from that, cocaine IS a­ performance enhancing drug. It's a painkiller -­ which is why 'gumming' it makes your mouth go­ numb. Sports-persons can push themselves further if­ they don't feel pain. It's not alcohol­ diazepam, barbiturates or even cannabis, which is a­ decidedly cheap way to get high, the easiest to test­ positive for, and still leads to a ban, even though the­ athlete is only doing themselves a disservice by doing­ the drug in the first place since it's definitely­ not performance-enhancing.

    People need to wake up.­ Cocaine is popular. So's buying over-priced­ electronics at Currys. Neither are the best option in­ life, just what's available to ignorant people with­ little time or sense.

    From DidgE, on Fri 27 Feb 10:01AM

  11. Another sad day for sporting role models ..... obvously­ the honour of playing for England is not enough for­ these highly paid individuals who chose drugs over­ pride.

    From MARGARET T, on Fri 27 Feb 10:00AM

  12. I really doubt matt stevens gives a s..t what you­ people think, he is probably more concerned with­ getting paid for the next two years. Cocaine is a­ social drug, which has taken the place of ecstasy as­ the cheap way to get a high at the weekend. A huge­ number of people do it and im sure you know at least­ one person who has a wrap or two in their pocket.

    I­ personally think a 2 year ban is a bit harsh, its not­ like cocaine is a performance enchancing drug. What he­ does in his spare time should be his business and no­ one elses. And that goes for all sportmans and so­ called celebs.

    From SIMON G, on Fri 27 Feb 9:34AM

  13. can anyone spell gloucester? oh, i can.

    From tommy, on Fri 27 Feb 9:31AM

  14. Why ban an athlete for the use of­ non-performance-enhancing drugs? Presumably he­ wasn't coked up during a match.

    From michaelwhourican, on Fri 27 Feb 9:22AM

  15. re. last comment. the guy plays for Bath not Glocester!

    From jtelectrics, on Fri 27 Feb 9:20AM

  16. the guy did wrong yea but lets gust move on its bad but­ we all have done something in are live whots wrong give­ the guy A brake COME ON GLOSCESTER

    From debblawrence, on Fri 27 Feb 8:48AM

  17. All that training for what? he has lost the respect of­ team mates, and no doubt he has no respect for himself.­ Should have known better. sad.

    From james.buttle1, on Fri 27 Feb 8:43AM

  18. @#$%!!!

    From lisamawby, on Fri 27 Feb 8:30AM

  19. All these idiots who are saying that they would be­ sacked if they got caught taking drugs, should remember­ that they wouldn't be prevented from finding­ another job in their chosen profession. In fact that­ would be illegal.

    From Donald D, on Fri 27 Feb 8:02AM

  20. For me the issue is not a moral one, you can think­ drugs are OK or not. The reality is that his sport use­ the WADA drug list and protocols. That means that­ Cocaine is banned and recieves a standard 2 year ban.­ On the basis of trying to stop drug cheats in all­ sports the RFU have handed down the standard ban. If he­ has been a runner etc he would have been banned from­ competing in the pinnacle of his sport (the olympics),­ at least he has the chance to return in two years time­ (as long as he stays fit and cleans himself up) and­ compete in the nezt World Cup.

    Never forget Paolo­ Rossi in Italia90 football world cup

    From CAH, on Fri 27 Feb 7:34AM
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