Taking the piss- Barnes hits out at Commonwealth drug test timings

IRISH boxing favourite Paddy Barnes was far from happy with the Commonwealth Games drug-test timings.

Indeed the two time Olympic medal winner labelled the procedure “disgrace” and claims it could have put his participation in the Glasgow hosted games in jeopardy.

Barnes and team-mate Michael Conlan were singled out for random testing after training on Monday and Barnes was kept up till 2am in a bid to get a sample.

The straight talking puncher wasn’t pleased to say the least and expressed his discontent when speaking to The Guardian.

“They pulled me at eight o’clock when I was still in my sweat gear and dehydrated and they had me sitting for about an hour,” he said. “I could have got cold or sick but they didn’t care – they just cared about getting urine.

“In the end they decided they would let me go and get changed but they kept me until two o’clock when they gave me two towels and told me I had to go to sleep on a physio bed. Eventually they voided the test and I could go back to my room but at half past seven this morning it happened again after four and a half hours’ sleep.

“It’s a disgrace. The timing of the test was terrible – to do it two days before the competition, I’ve never heard such a thing in my life.”

Northern Ireland’s general team manager, Alison Moffitt also commented on the test timing.

Moffitt said: “Team NI is fully supportive of the anti-doping programme and all athletes and support staff fully adhered to the requirements of the procedures.

“Unfortunately the timing of a recent request caused discomfort for a number of athletes who had just finished training and were in a state of dehydration as they make weight for competition which starts in a few days’ time. All personnel performed their roles efficiently and within the published guidelines.”