Cricketer Keith Barker receives 12-month ban for Anti-Doping Rule Violations
Cricketer Keith Barker has been banned from all World Anti-Doping Code-compliant sport for a period of 12 months following Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) for the Presence and Use of a Prohibited Substance.
UKAD collected a urine Sample from Mr Barker, Out-of-Competition, at Hampshire County Cricket Club. Analysis of Mr Barker’s Sample returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for indapamide, a Specified Substance that is prohibited at all times in sport. Indapamide is also a therapeutic agent used in the treatment of hypertension.
The Cricket Regulator notified Mr Barker of the AAF and confirmed the imposition of a Provisional Suspension. Mr Barker was invited to provide an explanation and went on to submit a retroactive Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) application to UKAD, however the application was rejected by UKAD’s TUE Fairness Review Panel, and Mr Barker chose not to appeal the decision.
Later, Mr Barker responded to the Cricket Regulator’s notice by admitting the ADRVs but stated that he wished to make submissions in mitigation of sanction on the basis that he bore ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence’. Mr Barker confirmed that he was using indapamide prior to providing the Sample that returned the AAF. He stated that it was prescribed to him by his personal doctor and was known to the club’s doctor. In his submission, Mr Barker stated that he relied on the advice and assurances of both doctors when using indapamide and was not informed that it was a Prohibited Substance.
The Cricket Regulator subsequently charged Mr Barker with both ADRVs, and his case was referred to the independent National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) for a hearing, which convened on 5 March 2025.
The Panel found that Mr Barker bore No Significant Fault or Negligence and concluded that he bore a “standard” normal degree of Fault. The Panel accounted for the fact that the indapamide had been prescribed for hypertension, that Mr Barker’s previous anti-hypertension medications had been permitted in sport, and that neither his personal doctor nor club doctor had informed Mr Barker of the prohibited status of indapamide in his latest prescription.
Mr Barker, however, did not undertake the same level of checks and scrutiny with indapamide that he had taken in respect of previously prescribed anti-hypertension medication (including conducting checks on Global DRO), despite having been educated and having knowledge regarding his anti-doping obligations. The Panel found that Mr Barker had failed to explain why he did not check the prohibited status of indapamide in sport when it was first prescribed to him, and that this was a factor which increased Mr Barker’s degree of Fault.
The Panel imposed a period of Ineligibility of 12 months, commencing on 4 July 2024 (the date of the Provisional Suspension). Mr Barker’s period of Ineligibility expires on 3 July 2025.
Technical notes
Indapamide is a Specified Substance listed under section S5 of the 2024 WADA Prohibited List and is prohibited at all times.
Under the World Anti-Doping Code’s ‘strict liability’ principle, athletes are solely responsible for all substances found in their body, which is why athletes must check the anti-doping status of their medication(s) before use.
Athletes who are in UKAD’s National TUE Pool are required to apply for and obtain a TUE in advance of starting treatment with UKAD.
Only in the following circumstances should treatment begin in advance of obtaining a TUE:
- Emergency or urgent situations (e.g., allergic reaction, exacerbation of asthma, onset of bell’s palsy, surgery, admission to A&E). In such circumstances, a TUE application should be submitted to UKAD as soon as possible.
- When an athlete has started treatment prior to reaching a competition level that is included within the National TUE Pool. Such athletes should apply for a TUE as soon as they advance to a competition level that is included within the National TUE Pool for their sport.
- Athletes who require the use of a glucocorticoid by local injection. In this instance, athletes are only required to apply for a retroactive TUE if they are subject to doping control in-competition and they subsequently return an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for the presence of that glucocorticoid. Please refer to our Glucocorticoid TUE Policy for more information.
UKAD’s TUE Fairness Review Panel considers athlete requests for a ‘fairness’ TUE (that is, a retroactive application which does not meet the conditions set out in Article 4.1 or 4.2 of the International Standard for Therapeutic Use Exemptions). The Panel is comprised of two staff representatives from UKAD (non-voting) and three external experts in medicine, ethics, and law – all of whom have experience in advising on anti-doping policy or regulatory matters within sport. All three external experts must be unanimous in their decision for a fairness TUE to be granted. A fairness TUE will be reserved for exceptional circumstances where it would be manifestly unfair (when considering the purposes of the WADA Code) not to grant a retroactive TUE. The granting of a fairness TUE for International- and National-level athletes will only be possible with prior approval from WADA.
Please note, unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, capitalised terms used in this announcement have the meaning given to them in the UK Anti-Doping Rules and/or World Anti-Doping Code.
Today’s announcement is made in accordance with the applicable anti-doping rules, following the expiry of appeal rights for UKAD, the Athlete, and the applicable National Governing Body and/or International Federation.
The National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) is the UK’s independent tribunal responsible for adjudicating anti-doping disputes in sport. The service is operated by Sport Resolutions in accordance with its own procedural rules and is entirely independent of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD).
