Richie Barnett

RICHIE Barnett has insisted that he is not a cheat after being banned for two years for failing a drugs test during his time with Wolves.

Barnett was recently handed a suspension from rugby league after a sample the winger provided following Wolves' win at Salford last Easter was found to contain an elevated testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio.

Barnett has told the BBC that he feels 'hard done by' and that the punishment was 'very harsh', suggesting that the positive test had been caused by 'a misunderstanding'.

The 26-year-old believes a legal supplement, which are commonplace in rugby league and other sports, may have had an effect on his testosterone levels.

His T/E ratio at the time of the test is believed to have been 5/1, with the legal limit reduced from 6/1 to 4/1 in 2005.

Barnett left Wolves to join Salford last July and had been without a club at the start of 2008.

But he has vowed to return to rugby league when his ban expires and wants to get involved in educating youngsters about supplements in sport.

6:02am Thursday 27th March 2008

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