Welsh boxer Robbie Turley handed 12-month doping ban after testing positive for a banned substance following pill mix-up

  • Boxer Robbie Turley tested positive for a banned diuretic and masking agent 
  • Turley had furosemide in his system when he beat Bobby Jenkinson last April
  • The fighter said he took the substance when his intention was to use ibuprofen
  • Turley's grandfather, Gwyn, had been taking furosemide for high blood pressure 

Welsh boxer Robbie Turley has received a 12-month suspension after testing positive for a banned diuretic and masking agent, UK Anti-Doping has announced.

The 31-year-old had furosemide in his system when on April 7 last year he won the vacant Commonwealth super-bantamweight title with a ninth-round stoppage of Bobby Jenkinson in Newport.


After he provided evidence stating he took the substance when his intention was to use ibuprofen, the National Anti-Doping Panel found Turley was at 'no significant fault or negligence'.

Robbie Turley had furosemide in his system when he beat Bobby Jenkinson last April

Robbie Turley had furosemide in his system when he beat Bobby Jenkinson last April

Turley told the investigation he had been visiting his grandfather and dying grandmother on April 4 and intended to leave their home to buy ibuprofen from a chemist, but was urged to stay and offered the medication from his grandparents' medicine box.

Turley's grandfather, Gwyn, had been taking furosemide for high blood pressure. 

The boxer detailed in his evidence that pill blister packs must have been put in the wrong packets within the medicine box, so despite intending to take ibuprofen he had used the wrong tablets.

The Welshman's grandfather, Gwyn, had been taking furosemide for high blood pressure

The Welshman's grandfather, Gwyn, had been taking furosemide for high blood pressure

His suspension for what the investigation found was a 'thoughtless' but not deliberate ingestion of furosemide begins from the date of last year's fight and concludes on April 7 2018.

UKAD chief executive Nicole Sapstead said: 'It is every athlete's individual responsibility to monitor and control what substances enter their body.

'We hope cases such as Mr Turley's serve as a reminder to all other athletes to check what they are ingesting and ensure it is in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list.'