Rugby League player David Foggin-Johnston receives two-year ban for Anti-Doping Rule Violations
Rugby League player David Foggin-Johnston has received a two-year ban from sport following Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) for the Presence and Use of cocaine.
Mr Foggin-Johnston was tested In-Competition by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) on 27 August 2023. On analysis, the player’s Sample tested positive for cocaine and its Metabolite benzoylecgonine. Cocaine is a non-Specified Substance that is prohibited In-Competition only.
UKAD notified Mr Foggin-Johnston that he may have committed ADRVs for the Presence and Use of a Prohibited Substance and provisionally suspended him. The player responded to admit the ADRVs but asserted that his Use of cocaine occurred Out-of-Competition.
Mr Foggin-Johnston was charged by UKAD with both ADRVs. Having consulted a scientific expert, UKAD asserted that Mr Foggin-Johnston’s Use of cocaine occurred In-Competition, which resulted in the case being referred to the independent National Anti-Doping Panel (‘NADP’) to determine the Consequences.
Following the exchange of evidence and submissions, the matter was heard before a tribunal of the NADP on 16 July 2024. The tribunal determined that Mr Foggin-Johnston’s Use of cocaine took place In-Competition. However, the tribunal was satisfied that his Use of cocaine was ‘recreational and unrelated to sport performance’ and therefore, in accordance with the rules applicable to Substances of Abuse, imposed a two-year period of Ineligibility.
Mr Foggin-Johnston is entitled to credit for the time he spent provisionally suspended, so his ban is deemed to have commenced on 11 October 2023 (the date his provisional suspension started) and will expire on 10 October 2025.
Technical terms and more information
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.
Mr Foggin-Johnston was notified by UKAD that he may have committed a violation of the RFL’s Anti-Doping Rules and was provisional suspended on 11 October 2023.
On bans from sport involving cocaine
Shorter bans of three months are available in such cases involving cocaine if the athlete can prove that the substance was ingested Out-of-Competition and in a context unrelated to sport performance. These bans can also be reduced further to one month if the athlete completes a UKAD approved rehabilitation course.
In-Competition and Out-of-Competition
Out-of-Competition includes all tests that do not take place at competitions. These can occur at any time or place - during training as well as outside of training.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) define In-Competition testing as the period commencing 11.59pm on the day before a competition, through to the end of such competition and the sample-collection process related to such competition.
The National Anti-Doping Panel
Operated by Sport Resolutions, the National Anti-Doping Panel is an independent tribunal responsible for adjudicating anti-doping disputes in sport in the UK.
For more information on the NADP, please visit the Sport Resolutions website.
