British boxing star Amir Khan has been banned from boxing and all sports for two years after testing positive for a the presence and use of a prohibited substance, following his fight with Kell Brook last year. ‘I’ve never cheated in my life’ said the retired boxer upon discovering the ban.
Khan was found guilty of having ostarine, a banned performance-enhancing drug, in his body on the night of his last match on 19 February 2022, in a urine sample given to the official Anti-Doping UK company, UKAD, after the match.
“I’ve never cheated in my life”
Amir Khan speaks exclusively to Sky News after discovering he has been given a two-year ban from all sports after he tested positive for a banned substance following his fight with Kell Brook last year 🔽 pic.twitter.com/UYxUb1nnj9
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 4, 2023
UKAD formally charged Khan with two anti-doping rule violations on 20 July. The boxer accepted the charge but he maintained that his ingestion of ostarine was not intentional.
An independent tribunal that had heard Khan’s case in late Feb, issued its written decision declaring that the panel found that both violations had been proved and “concluded that Khan had established that they were not ‘intentional’, imposing a two-year ban on him. Khan’s two-year ban is deemed to have commenced on 6 April 2022 and will expire on 5 April 2024.”
Before stepping into the ring for the last time for his fight with Brook, Khan had said: “If either of us lose, it’s something that will haunt us for a very long time. That’s the reason I’ve trained so hard. I’ve done everything I’ve needed to because I know I can’t lose this fight.”
