Former Republic of Ireland international striker Daryl Murphy has revealed that he secretly served an FA ban for cocaine.
Murphy, currently at Bolton Wanderers, told The Athletic that he was “not proud” of the incident which saw him banned for six weeks last season while he was at Nottingham Forest.
Murphy described it simply as a “bad decision” and an “isolated incident”.
“Firstly, I would like to stress that the taking of recreational drugs is something that I don’t condone whatsoever,” Murphy said.
“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.”
Murphy was not named at the time due to the FA’s policy of not naming players who’ve failed drug tests. He served his ban in secret between and did not play for Forest for a two month span between 6 October and 8 December 2018.
The 36-year-old transferred to Bolton Wanderers at the beginning of the current season and has scored five goals in ten appearances, though the club are stuck at the bottom of the third tier.
Murphy retired from international football at the beginning of 2018 after making 32 appearances for Ireland although Mick McCarthy, who managed Murphy at Ipswich, tried in vain to get him to return when he took over in charge of Republic of Ireland.
