Sheahan could appeal ban

Ireland international Frankie Sheahan will today consider whether to appeal the two-year worldwide ban which threatens to wreck his World Cup dream.

The Toronto-born hooker was banned until May 30 2005 after testing positive for the drug Salbutamol and was given 14 days to appeal against the decision.

The substance was found in a sample given after Munster’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Toulouse on April 26 and Sheahan was subsequently charged under the competition’s anti-doping programme.

European Rugby Cup Ltd revealed last night how Sheahan’s sample contained 20 times as much Salbutamol as a similar test performed after Munster’s quarter-final.

The substance is permitted under ERC rules providing its use is officially declared – and after his positive test Sheahan insisted he had done nothing wrong.

Sheahan, who made his Ireland debut three years ago and has won 13 caps, claimed he had forgotten to properly inform authorities that he was using the drug to combat asthma.

Sheahan said of his charge: “Apparently, I did not tick off the appropriate box to show I have a medical need to use Ventolin, which contains Salbutamol, because of asthma, which all my medical records show.

“Ventolin is not a forbidden substance and it is simply a technicality of having it declared on the form.”

But the ERC’s independent judicial tribunal decided the levels of Salbutamol in his system exceeded those he claimed to have taken to treat his asthma.

The tribunal, which was made up of Professor Lorne Crerar, Professor Donald MacLeod and Peter Brown, met on Monday but spent several days deliberating before announcing their decision.

The tribunal found they “cannot with conscience conclude that the player has satisfied us, on the balance of probabilities, that he administered himself with only eight puffs of Ventolin containing Salbutamol for the purpose of properly treating and/or preventing his asthma and/or exercise-induced asthma.”