Sheahan backs O’Mahony’s bid to clear his name
Asthma sufferer O’Mahony, 28, has been suspended by the GAA after details emerged of an “adverse finding” from a sample taken after the All-Ireland final loss to Tyrone.
The indications are that the case is remarkably similar to that of Munster ace Sheahan, who was banned for two years for illegal use of Salbutamol, the medicine contained in a Ventolin inhaler.
Sheahan fought a successful €120,000 bid to clear his name and eventually had his suspension reduced to three months.
Last night, he declared: “From what I have been told, it seems a similar case to mine. I said at the time (2003) that unless the World Anti-Doping Agency published an unambiguous set of rules on Salbutamol, the permitted levels, and whether or not they believed it to be in any way performance-enhancing, then this situation was another accident waiting to happen.
“I’d be almost 100% sure that Aidan O’Mahony is just another innocent victim of guidelines that are confusing and inconsistent. I knew this would happen to some other asthma sufferer down the line.”
And Munster star Sheahan, who’s preparing to face the All Blacks tonight at Thomond Park, advised O’Mahony that if he has nothing to hide, don’t hide.
“He may feel like curling up in a corner but he’s got to be on the front foot from day one in terms of his defence. I spoke freely about it to anyone that asked because I had nothing to hide. If Aidan is in a similar situation, then he’s got to tackle this head on.
“I was very lucky. My father, the IRFU and others were a big help in financing my defence. If I was an ordinary Joe Soap, I probably would have ended up getting a two-year ban and wouldn’t have had the wherewithal to do anything about it. The bottom line is that, if you are not an asthmatic and you take Salbutamol, it is not performance-enhancing. It’ll do nothing for you, save cause a tremor in your left hand.”
Sheahan’s defence team was able to show his seriously dehydrated state on the day of his test in 2003 — a Heineken Cup semi-final defeat in Toulouse — distorted his sample reading. Sheahan was found with 1644ng/ml of Salbutamol in a urine sample. Normal levels for an inhaler user are around 1000ng/ml.
It is understood O’Mahony has engaged Cork lawyer Paul Derham, the legal driving force in Sheahan’s successful appeal against his ban.
New English rugby coach Martin Johnson has also agreed that there is still a huge degree of confusion among sports people who use medication to control their asthma. “The regulations regarding the use of inhalers in rugby have to be clarified in order to bring transparency and consistency to the issue,” he said.
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