RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Benn’s appetite for eggs is no yolk as mystery remains over failed drugs tests

From the sport that once gave us a defense based on the uncastrated boar, we now have an addition to the boxing genre and its avenues of escape from a positive drug test: voracious consumption of eggs.

Despite the seriousness of the issue, the jokes have not been long in coming since the World Boxing Council authorized Conor Benn to return to its rankings.

Connor Benedict. what a yolk Some of the offers would indicate that the verdict from a wide-ranging sanctioning body might not be the one-sided name-cleaner that Benn wanted. And it shouldn’t be either, as the WBC ruling has raised more questions than answers.

It’s been nearly five months since we broke the news that Benn tested positive for clomiphene on September 1, which preceded the last-minute cancellation of his October fight with Chris Eubank Jnr and sparked allegations of a cover-up. A short time later, we informed him that he, too, had failed a previous test in July.

Through the WBC statement, we read that they found no conclusive evidence of intent to ingest clomiphene.

WBC believes Conor Benn provided a ‘reasonable explanation’ for his failed drug tests

What we didn’t read was any reference to strict liability, which is often a key aspect of the anti-doping framework. According to Article 2 of the World Anti-Doping Agency code, “it is not necessary to demonstrate intent, fault, negligence or knowing use by the athlete to establish an anti-doping rule violation.”

We may one day explore that thought further with the WBC, who accordingly say that Benn is clear about returning to his welterweight ranking.

That, of course, is the limit of its jurisdiction in a matter that is being investigated at a much broader level by UK Anti-Doping.

Until the latter is concluded, the British Boxing Board of Control will not allow Benn to fight in Britain, so ‘cleared’ in this case is a very relative term. It would be generous to the point of naivety to say that he is halfway there.

What is so troubling about the WBC probe are the details they revealed about their handling of this issue.

Specifically, they say Benn’s long-standing defense focused on criticism of the testing process implemented by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, and it was only in February of this year that Benn’s legal team submitted a detailed breakdown of his diet, which included a large number of eggs. . To agree to that timeline, Benn presented his key evidence and accepted it within a three-week period, which is remarkable when the anti-doping justice system is notoriously icy.

More puzzling is how reliable sources have told Sportsmail since late January that Benn’s team had already been notified that he was free by accidental ingestion, as we reported on January 31.

The WBC also concluded that Benn did not intentionally ingest the banned substance clomiphene.

Benn’s fight with Chris Eubank Jr was called off after the former failed two drug tests

At some point, we have to assume that Sulaiman will come up with some more detailed answers, which could include why the WBC only weighed the merits of the first positive test in isolation and didn’t expand inquiries to cover Benn’s second positive.

They could also share the identity of his “expert nutritionist,” and likewise, Benn could divulge where he got these eggs (30 to 34 per week, according to an interview he gave in October).

One interesting aspect is that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says that clomiphene is not authorized for use in animals in the UK.

For now, mystery remains, and it looms over a sport whose reputation for policing itself is more fragile than the average egg.