Oisin Murphy: Champion jockey banned until February 2023 for Covid and alcohol breaches

Oisin MurphyGetty Images

Oisin Murphy has been flat racing's champion jockey in 2019, 2020 and 2021

Champion jockey Oisin Murphy has been banned for 14 months after admitting breaching coronavirus protocols, misleading the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and prejudicial conduct, plus two alcohol breaches.

Murphy, 26, admitted all charges at an independent judiciary panel on Tuesday.

The suspension is backdated to 8 December as Murphy gave up his licence to seek support when he was charged.

It means he cannot reapply for his licence until 16 February, 2023.

Murphy faced five charges, two relating to failed tests for alcohol in May and October last year and separate counts of misleading or attempting to mislead the BHA over his location from 9-12 September 2020, as well as accessing a racecourse in breach of Covid protocols and acting in a way that prejudiced the reputation of horseracing.

The Irishman had gone on holiday between 9-12 September 2020 to the Greek island of Mykonos, which was on the Covid red-list at the time, but he had attempted to convince officials he had been at Lake Como in Italy.

He was given three 11-month suspensions for the two Covid breaches and conduct prejudicial to the reputation of the sport, all to run concurrently, along with a £31,111 fine.

He was also given 10 days for a positive alcohol test at Chester on 5 May and a further 90 days for another positive recorded at Newmarket on 8 October - his second and third breaches within the allotted time period to trigger a lengthy ban.

Murphy was banned for three months in November 2020 after testing positive for cocaine, although investigators did not contest his claim that he had ingested the drug accidentally via a sexual encounter with a user.

In a statement, Murphy said a dependence on alcohol had led him to make some "grave" errors, adding he only began to confront the issue after an incident in a Newmarket bar on 7 October - the day before he failed an alcohol test for a third time.

"The next morning my friends started telling me stories about what I'd done and the panic set in. I realised my drinking was out of control. I never drank in the morning but in the evening I could drink one glass of wine or 10," he said.

"I took until October 8 for me to finally give in and realise that my issues of coping with pressure had led to me developing a dependence on alcohol.

"I couldn't undo the lies and deceit. Now that I'm sober I'm a different person and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made those errors sober, but I can't go back in time and I'm afraid they were grave issues.

"I dealt with success and failure the same. Drink was the rock I perished on. People had told me this could happen but I failed to avoid it and fell into the trap.

"The day I picked up the championship trophy there was no element of joy in it for me. I admit all the breaches and just wish I could have dealt with them better."

After the hearing on Tuesday the BHA said: "Mr Murphy's breaches of the rules were extremely serious, reckless and potentially incredibly damaging for the sport. They risked endangering his fellow jockeys and racing industry participants.

"In their summing up, the independent panel stated that Mr Murphy's conduct was unworthy of a sportsman and previous champion, and he had let down his colleagues and the sport.

"We would, however, also acknowledge that Mr Murphy later made full, public admissions regarding these offences, and did not seek to contest the rule breaches at today's hearing. He also gave full and frank admissions regarding his personal battles.

"We would also call on everyone in the sport to respect the admissions that he has made about his physical and mental wellbeing and his need for rehabilitation. The BHA will offer any support that Mr Murphy requests in this ongoing process."

Related topics