Dispatches reveals former Birmingham City striker Garry O'Connor failed drugs test for cocaine

Sep 12 2011

Channel 4's Dispatches documentary has revealed that former Birmingham City striker Garry O'Connor failed a drug test for cocaine when he played for the club.

The offence is believed to have happened during the 2009-10 season, with his ban coinciding with an injury.

According to Dispatches, O'Connor failed a drug test for cocaine on October 19, 2009 and was subsequently suspended for two months by the FA.

The Channel 4 television programme said that Blues, manager Alex McLeish and the FA kept the drug abuse and ban secret.

Blues released a statement saying that they acted in accordance with FA privacy guidlines on out of competition testing for social drugs.

On October 21, 2009 O'Connor scored a stoppage-time winner for Blues against Crystal Palace that gave the club their best ever start to a league campaign.

He then scored twice more in the next game, a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, but didn't figure at QPR on October 28, after sustained a groin injury during the pre-match warm-up at Loftus Road.

O'Connor then underwent surgery and returned to action in March of that season, when Blues were promoted from the Championship.

He struggled with injury for most of the following season, 2009-10, and had another operation.

Although his contract expired, he was handed a six-month agreement in order to prove his fitness.

He was loaned to Barnsley in September 2010 - Dispatches claimed that they were not told by the player or Blues of O'Connor's drug ban - and was signed permanently by them in December.

His contract at Oakwell was cancelled by mutual consent in April 2011 and this summer he rejoined his first club, Hibernian.

O'Connor was signed for Blues by Steve Bruce from Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow for £2.65 million in June 2007.

Birmingham City have responded to the allegation by releasing a statement on the club website.

It said: "In light of tonight's Dispatches programme on Channel Four Birmingham City would like to point fans towards a statement on the Football Association and Football League websites.

"It explains the effective and comprehensive anti-doping programme that is operated in English football and the reasons why privacy is often an important measure with regards to rehabilitation.

"The statement can be read in full at www.thefa.com by clicking here, visiting www.football-league.co.uk or at the end of this article."

The FA's statement in full:

The FA operates a comprehensive anti-doping programme which is the largest of any sport in the UK.

 The FA prohibits all the doping offences listed in the World Anti-Doping Agency code and applies all the sanctions laid down in the Code for those offences.

 In addition, The FA, supported by all the football stakeholders, recognise the issues that social drugs may cause and choose to go beyond the WADA Code by proactively testing all samples for social drugs, irrespective of whether the tests are conducted in or out of competition.

Football is one of the only sports in the UK that ban social drugs at all times, and were the first to do so.

Any player who tests positive for a social drug out of competition is charged and subject to a sanction which ordinarily includes a suspension from all football activity for a period of up to six months for a first time offence.

They are also subject to target testing for a period of two years.

The FA do not report the name of the player as this offence is not a WADA Code offence and privacy allows for the player to undergo any necessary rehabilitation and counselling.

All England representative teams are subject to UEFA and FIFA regulations whilst Premier and Football League clubs and players are subject to strict FA whereabouts regulations.

Players are drug tested on a no-advance notice basis.

Testing can take place at matches, training grounds, player's home addresses and locations abroad.

70% of all FA drug tests are conducted out of competition, as recognised by WADA as the most effective means of deterring and detecting doping.

Any club or player in breach of The FA whereabouts regulations are subject to disciplinary processes.

In addition to the testing programme, The FA, along with its stakeholders, engages all professional and youth players in a comprehensive education programme every year.