Craig Walsh, who has represented Shelbourne, Bohemians, Longford and UCD in his time in the League of Ireland, has admitted that a twelve month ban he was given from the game last year was as a result of a positive test for cocaine.
A joint statement on Friday from Sport Ireland and the FAI revealed that Walsh tested positive on the 5th of September last year but that he has now had the ban reduced after it was found that there was "no significant fault or negligence" in his actions.
Walsh, a midfielder who has represented Ireland at youth level, very nearly earned a contract at Inter Milan earlier in his career when he finished runner-up on the Sky One series 'Football's Next Star'.
Walsh released a statement in which he commented on the ban and his actions.
I suffer from a severe gambling addiction and have done for some years now. It is debilitating and all consuming and, like most addictions, when it unleashes its full power, it becomes impossible to control. It has also caused me to suffer depressive symptoms as a consequence.
I hit rock bottom. I had lost far more money than I possessed and I lost control of my senses. My gambling problem had become more and more acute and I didn’t know where to turn. My judgment was impaired to such an extent that I drank to excess and then took a small amount of cocaine which was offered to me during a period when I was unable to exercise any level of self control. This is the first and last time that I have taken that, or any other, drug, and I regret it hugely.
He also added that the ban has "made me a stronger person with a greater insight to the extent of the issues I had been dealing with" and that he "can’t wait to get back playing and repay the faith shown in me."
With the length of his ban now reduced, Walsh can now put this incident in the past and look forward to continuing his professional career.
