MacLeod breathes easy after inhaler furore
A pensive Scott MacLead answers questions during a press conference at Murrayfield yesterday
Tuesday February 26 2008
SCOTLAND'S Scott MacLeod yesterday declared that justice had been done after he was cleared of failing a doping test he took in January.
The 28-year-old second-row tested positive for the asthma medication Terbutaline, which is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency unless permission has been granted in advance.
MacLeod switched inhalers, from Salbutamol -- which he had been cleared to use after receiving a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) -- to Terbutaline. He said he did not realise it was essential to specify the exact type of inhaler he uses to treat his asthma.
MacLeod yesterday admitted it was a naive mistake and he was happy to take a reprimand along with a warning that, should the same offence occur again, he will be handed a a two-year suspension.
The Llanelli lock received a random drug test from UK Sport on January 25 and thought nothing more about it until he was informed of the problem on February 14.
MacLeod appeared before an independent judiciary committee last week and faced a one-year suspension but was cleared to continue with his playing career and was part of the Scotland team beaten 34-13 by Ireland in Croke Park on Saturday -- knowing that the threat of a ban had already been lifted.
Injecting Terbutaline can have anabolic effects but MacLeod convinced the committee that by using his inhaler he had not gained or sought to gain any sporting advantage.
"They pretty much accepted that I had made a genuine mistake," he said yesterday.
"I was shocked, really. I couldn't believe it, to be honest. I thought that the TUE form specified that I have asthma and that I take an asthma reliever for it.
"I have had asthma all my life and I've never left the house since I was five years old without having an inhaler. I couldn't play sport without having an inhaler with me at all times.
"I'm glad it is all over now. I won't make the same mistake again," he added.
The MacLeod case is similar to an incident involving Munster hooker Frankie Sheahan in 2003, also involving an administrative error.
Sheahan, a lifelong asthmatic, tested positive for Salbutamol after Munster's Heineken Cup semi-final defeat to Toulouse and was handed a two-year ban.
Sheahan had not informed the authorities beforehand that he was using a Ventolin inhaler to combat his asthma and, following an appeal, the ban was reduced to three months.
- Hugh Farrelly
