Irish boxer Michael O'Reilly handed four-year ban for failing doping test on eve of Rio Olympics

The Irish Sport Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel said he had not proved “his admitted anti-doping rule violation was not intentional” and handed him a four-year suspension

Michael O'Reilly won a gold medal at the Baku 2015 European Games (Getty)

Irish amateur boxer Michael O’Reilly has been banned for four years after he failed a drugs test on the eve of the Rio Olympics in 2016.

The middleweight, who won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Doha, returned a positive test for the banned substance methandienone and was provisionally suspended on the day the draws were made for the boxing tournaments in Rio.

O’Reilly, 24, argued that the offence had been “unintentional” and appealed against the initial recommendation of a four-year ban by Sport Ireland.

However the Irish Sport Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel said he had not proved “his admitted anti-doping rule violation was not intentional”.

A statement read: “The panel has concluded that Mr O'Reilly has not discharged the burden of proving that his admitted anti-doping rule violation was not intentional.

“In those circumstances, the period of ineligibility which must be imposed is a period of four years under Article 10.1.1 of the Rules.

“The panel is not satisfied that there is any basis for reducing or eliminating that period of ineligibility on any grounds put forward on behalf of Mr O'Reilly.”

O’Reilly’s suspension has been backdated to July 2016, but nevertheless rules him out of qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

A final verdict in the case was delayed by O’Reilly’s appeal against Sport Ireland’s recommendation of a four-year ban, as well as his request to be granted additional time to obtain an expert’s report.

The final hearing eventually took place on December 7 2017, before the Irish anti-doping authority announced the decision on Monday.

O’Reilly is a previous gold medal winner at the European Games but now appears unlikely to ever return to the amateur sport.