Drug test danger of internet supplements

ANY player who purchases a food supplement over the internet runs the risk of being the first from the GAA to test positive for drug-taking.

This was the message from yesterday’s media briefing by the Association’s Medical, Scientific and Welfare committee, where two major initiatives which will involve the screening of 400 inter-county players and the establishment of a nationwide injury data base, were announced.

Dublin City University Professor Niall Moyna admitted: “It worries me that a lot of our players, misguidedly, will be taking these supplements. We dread the day that one them is found to have a positive test.”

Committee chairman Pat Duggan (the Dublin team doctor) pointed out that one of the “triggers” for the increased demand for doctors involved with teams has been the doping issue. And, they were concerned about “vulnerable” players who didn’t know what was right or wrong and who didn’t liaise with their team doctors. He said: “Any supplement is dangerous. That is the clear message that should go out. Be very careful!”

Dr Duggan said that “anecdotally or otherwise”, he had never heard any suggestion of a GAA player being involved in any illegal activity. “Protein supplements and creatine certainly are taken, but neither is a banned product. Personally I don’t think there are huge risks involved, but whether there are huge benefits from creatine supplementation, I am not too sure.”