Former Republic of Ireland international Daryl Murphy has revealed that he served a secret cocaine ban last year.
Daryl Murphy has admitted that 14 months ago, he served a suspension after testing positive for cocaine.
The suspension took place in October last year when Murphy, who is now at Bolton Wanderers, was a Nottingham Forest player. He did not feature for Forest between October 6 and December 8, 2018.
Murphy, 36, revealed he took cocaine on a night out in what was “an isolated incident” that he instantly regretted.
“Firstly, I would like to stress that the taking of recreational drugs is something that I don’t condone whatsoever,” Murphy told The Athletic.
“I served a suspension at the beginning of last season for making a bad decision while on a night out.
“This was an isolated incident which happened out of competition when we had no game. I immediately regretted it.
“I am not proud of what I did but it’s something I have put behind me as I want to concentrate on my football career.”
The English Football Association does not publicly name players who fail tests for recreational drugs which explains why the centre-forward’s suspension was not covered in the media at the time.
Murphy retired from international football at the beginning of 2018 after scoring three goals in 33 senior appearances for the Republic of Ireland senior side.
