Rhys Webb suspend for 4 years

Having tested positive for growth hormone last summer, former Welsh international Rhys Webb has just been handed a four-year suspension by the French Anti-Doping Agency.

In July 2023, Welsh international scrum-half Rhys Webb (35 years old, 40 caps), who had just signed for Biarritz Olympique, tested positive for growth hormone during a BOPB training session. In the process, the AFLD (French Anti-Doping Agency) immediately provisionally suspended the player. Webb then requested an analysis at the Saclay laboratory (Essonne), of a "B" sample, which also tested positive.

It is confirmed that the former Ospreys and Toulon player has been sanctioned by the AFLD sanctions committee and has in fact been issued a four-year ban against the player. The document issued by the body therefore stipulates that Rhys Webb is prohibited from:

− participating, in any capacity whatsoever, in a competition authorized or organized by an organization that is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code or one of its members, by a professional league or an organization responsible for international or national events that are not signatories, by a sports federation, or giving rise to the award of prizes in cash or in kind

− to participate in any activity, including training, training or exhibitions, authorized or organized by an organization that is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code or one of its members, by a professional league or an organization responsible for international or national events that is not a signatory, or by a sports federation, a professional league or one of their members, unless these activities are part of recognized education or rehabilitation programs related to the fight against doping

− to exercise the functions of management staff or any administrative activity within a sports federation, a professional league, an organization that is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code or one of their members, as well as those of a sports educator defined in Article L. 212-1 of the Sports Code

− and to take part in any sporting activity involving national or international level athletes and financed by a public person.