LAST UPDATE | 28 Apr 2020

CARLOW INTER-COUNTY FOOTBALLER Ray Walker has confirmed that he is the player at the centre of recent reports of an anti-doping violation within the GAA.

Walker says he has accepted a four-year ban which will effectively end his playing career for both county and club but claims he unintentionally ingested the prohibited substance in question, the identity of which he did not specify.

The Sunday Independent reported last weekend that an inter-county player had failed a test after a National Football League game in February and that the situation was being investigated by Sport Ireland who conducted the test.

O’Hanrahan’s club man Walker released a statement via the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) on Tuesday evening confirming he was the footballer in question but insisted he did not intentionally consume the unnamed substance.

Walker also claimed he had “did not receive any anti-doping training or education” between his return to the Carlow panel in November following a lengthy spell away from the inter-county game, and his failed test which he confirmed was carried out in February.

“My name is Ray Walker,” he began. “I am 35 years old and returned to the Carlow senior football panel last November following a long absence. I am the player who is at the centre of recent reports about an anti-doping violation.

“In light of the four-year ban which I now have to serve, which ends my inter-county career, and most likely my club involvement given my age, I want to put the following on the record.

I did not intentionally take any banned substance. Anything that was found in my system was there completely unintentionally. I cannot explain for sure how the substance came to be in my system but I was taking anti-inflammatories for a lower stomach issue around the time of the test.

“I am accepting the four-year ban because I want this episode over and done with and, at 35, even a lesser ban would still mean I was unlikely to ever return to playing,” Walker continued. “It is not an admission of intentional wrongdoing on my part in any way.

Finally, from the time that I re-joined the Carlow panel in November to the time the test took place in February, I did not receive any anti-doping training or education.

“I will be making no further comment on this matter and would appreciate that the media would respect my privacy in this regard.”

Walker captained his club, O’Hanrahan’s, back to senior following their victory over Kildavin-Clonegal in last year’s Carlow intermediate championship final.

His fine form saw him return to Turlough O’Brien’s county panel in November following an absence of a couple of years, but his career at senior level is now likely over following his acceptance of a ban that will keep him off the field until he is 39.

Update: A statement released by Carlow late on Tuesday night read: “Carlow GAA is aware that an adverse analytical finding against a member of its Senior football panel is currently under the consideration of the Irish Sport Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel.

“As the matter is still under consideration, we are not in a position to offer any additional comment until the disciplinary process is complete.

“We ask that the privacy of the player and his family be respected.”