The Brentford midfielder Alan Judge has been warned by the Football Association after breaching its anti-doping regulations. The Republic of Ireland international suffers from asthma and was found with high levels of salbutamol in his system following a match in August. He has been warned as to his future conduct, issued with a reprimand and will be target tested for the next two years.
A statement on the FA’s website said the Bees’ player of the year “was charged after the presence of salbutamol, above the permitted threshold [used via an asthma inhaler] was found in his system and considered not to be an intended therapeutic use of the substance”.
Judge, who had been ruled out of Euro 2016 after suffering a serious leg break while playing for Brentford in April, denied the charge but it was found proven following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing on Wednesday. The statement added: “The sanction set by the Regulatory Commission was in accordance with the provisions relating to No Significant Fault or Negligence.”
Brentford released a statement clarifying the situation. It read: “Alan has suffered from exercise-induced asthma since he was a child and was given permission to use the inhaler.
“Following a match last August, Alan’s levels of salbutamol from his inhaler use were found to be slightly above the threshold. However, in mitigation, he provided a full explanation of the circumstances surrounding this.
“The FA found the case proven due to the level of salbutamol but acknowledged Alan’s strong arguments in mitigation by issuing a decision which confirmed that he demonstrated ‘no significant fault or negligence’. The club will not be making any further comment.” PA
