Wasps’ Johnson gets six-month ban for mistakenly taking wife’s fat-burning supplement

Wasps forward Ashley Johnson has been handed a six-month ban after it was deemed his positive anti-doping test was due to him mistakenly taking his wife’s fat-burning dietary supplement.

The former Springbok’s sanction has been backdated to when he provided a urine sample containing hydrochlorothiazide in an out-of-competition test on February 7, meaning he is eligible to return next month.

Johnson argued the adverse finding stemmed from him inadvertently consuming a fat burner his wife purchased in South Africa rather than his own legitimate supplement, and an independent national anti-doping panel was satisfied with his explanation.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the player tested the product for hydrochlorothiazide, which is not listed among the ingredients, and an RFU statement revealed “on both occasions it returned a positive result”.

Johnson said in a statement: “I was horrified when I got the test results and once we tracked back and worked out I had inadvertently taken the wrong tablet.

“I completely accept that I am responsible for everything in my body. Drug use is not something I would ever condone, and from now on I will be extra vigilant at all times.

“I would like to thank my family and friends, everyone at Wasps, the RPA [Rugby Players Association] and our fans for their support through this difficult period and apologise unreservedly for what has happened.

“I am now working hard in pre-season and am looking forward to putting this behind me and getting back to being part of the Wasps squad.”

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said: “We fully support the measures in place to keep rugby doping-free, and are grateful for the professionalism shown by everyone involved in this case.

“Ashley has been at Wasps since 2012 and in that time successfully completed countless anti-doping tests.

“He is an extremely honourable person who has made a one-off accidental error for which he has held his hands up, apologised and accepted the consequences.”

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