Allen loses drug appeal

Former Wigan and Widnes forward Dave Allen has lost his appeal against a two-year drugs ban.

Allen, 22, was suspended by the Rugby Football League in March after it was revealed he had tested positive for Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

Rod Findlay, the RFL's in-house lawyer, said: "It is unfortunate that a player sought to avoid the appropriate sanction by citing technicalities. However we are pleased to say that the RFL defeated that case. The RFL is committed to the campaign against drugs in sport, has a successful anti-doping programme and enjoys a good record of negative tests."

The RFL initially banned the player for a year but the punishment was doubled on appeal by UK Sport. Allen took his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in London and argued that the appeal had taken place outside the 14-day limit.

Allen's suspension was back-dated to November 4, 2006, when he took the failed test.