Amir Khan has been banned from all sport for two years for failing a drugs test after his fight with Kell Brook two years ago — but has claimed the substance may have got into his system from ‘shaking hands’.
A urine sample collected by UK Anti-Doping from the 36-year-old contained ostarine, a banned bodybuilding drug.
Khan accepted the findings but maintained his ingestion was not ‘intentional’, and he pleaded his innocence and insisted he ‘never had or never will cheat’.
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His claim that the ingestion of ostarine was ‘not intentional’ meant the case was referred to the National Anti-Doping Panel and was considered by an independent tribunal which heard the case in January.
In the written decision, the panel found him guilty of both violations, but concluded he had not done so intentionally.
Khan, speaking to Sportsmail, said: ‘I have never cheated in my 27 years in the ring.
‘I spent over £100,000 to try to find out how this could have got into my system. Among the possibilities they came up with was via a handshake. There was a whole crowd of people in my dressing room after the fight and I’m a friendly guy who always shakes hands.’
In a statement when announcing the ban, UKAD revealed the amount of ostarine that was in Khan’s system was 0.5 per cent and said: ‘Professional boxer and Olympic medallist Amir Khan has been banned from all sport for two years following Anti-Doping Rule Violations for the presence and use of a Prohibited substance.
‘Ostarine is a selective androgen receptor modulator. The substance is listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s 2022 Prohibited List as an anabolic agent and is prohibited in sport at all times.’
SOURCE: DAILYMAIL
