In February 2017 the English Football Association (FA) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the player Patrick Lacey after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance cocaine.
After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the FA Regulatory Commission.
The Athlete admitted the violation and demonstrated with evidence from expert witnesses that he suffered from depressions over a period of 4 years and used alcohol and cocaine to cope with this problem. He stated that in November 2016 after a match, two days before the sample collection, he went out in the evening with friends, had consumed alcohol until the next day and had used cocaine.
The Regulatory Commission accepts the evidence of the expert witnesses about the Athlete’s cognitive impairment and finds that the Athlete established how the substance entered his system and that het violation was non intentional.
Considering No Significant Fault or Negligence in this case the FA Regulatory Commission decides on 10 May 2017 to impose a 14 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 15 December 2016.
