Tuesday, 25th June, 2013

Fleetwood Town midfielder and former Everton trainee Gerard Kinsella has been suspended for two years by the English Football Association after testing positive for steroids.

Kinsella, who joined the Cod Army from Everton in August last year, tested positive for the banned substance Nandrolone.



The player has a right to appeal the decision, but no reports on the same have emerged as yet.

The 21-year-old had been out on loan for a month with Telford United, but returned in February this year following which he was tested on an "out-of-competition" basis.

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The sentence will be backdated from 5th February until 4th February, 2013, despite the player protesting his innocence in the matter over the knowledge of his consumption of a banned substance.

An FA statement read: "Following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, Fleetwood Town’s Gerard Kinsella has been suspended from football and all football activities for two years, subject to any appeal, after he admitted an FA charge in relation to a breach of its Anti-Doping regulations.

"Kinsella was charged under FA Rule E25 for a breach of Regulation 3 after he gave a sample following an out of competition test which contained the presence of a prohibited substance, namely Nandrolone, listed as an Anabolic Androgenic Steroid in the 2013 Prohibited List of the World Anti-Doping Code.

"The player, who requested a personal hearing, will serve a 24-month suspension commencing 5 February 2013 until 4 February 2015."

In the FA report on the investigation, Kinsella is quoted as having claimed that a cousin gave him medication for shoulder pain.

The FA, whilst accepting his "relative youth and inexperience" and his struggles against perennial injury and depression, agreed he would receive the full ban.

The FA document further read: "We find that [Kinsella’s] conduct fell well short of establishing that he acted without significant fault or negligence.

"He had some knowledge of the existence of an anti-doping regime and had received some education on the subject."

Kinsella had graduated to Everton’s senior squad in 2010, but failed to make the Premier League grade, and instead ended with 12 games in the Under-21 Premier League.

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