Sheffield United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny has been suspended by the FA after testing positive for the banned stimulant ephedrine, found in some cold remedies. The Republic of Ireland international ingested the over-the-counter medicine without consulting United's medical staff. "We know Paddy's not a drugs cheat and they've accepted that," Sheffield manager Kevin Blackwell said. "We're just considering our options. We think nine months for a mistake out of a medicine chest seems harsh. This case shows that before a player takes anything out of his medicine cabinet he has to check it intently."
Blackwell sympathized with his goalkeeper, saying, "My thoughts are with Paddy because to do something as innocent as that and get punished … it'll take some getting over. He can't train with any professional club. There's a lot for him to take on board. His contract runs out at the end of the season, so a lot of things are going on in his mind."
The FA's ruling emphasized that professional players have a responsibility to understand the implications of any substance they ingest. "A professional sportsman including a football player has a strict responsibility to ensure prohibited substances do not enter his/her body. In this instance Kenny knowingly ingested an over-the-counter medicine above the prescribed dosage without reading the accompanying package or leaflet and without reference to his club's doctor or other medical staff," said the FA's Regulatory Commission chairman, Christopher Quinlan. "It is incumbent upon all professional footballers to understand the perils and dangers of so doing and to act in the way he did, contrary to the Doping Control Program delivered by The FA and in any event what should be a matter of common sense for a professional sportsman, showed in our judgment a complete disregard for those responsibilities."