Ben Arthurs Returns to Irish Premiership After Ban

Ben Arthurs will walk back into the Irish Premiership this month with a three‑month ban behind him and a spotlight firmly fixed on what comes next.

The Bangor striker has completed a suspension imposed after an anti-doping test detected a banned substance in the wake of the Seasiders’ Irish Premiership defeat by Glentoran on 10 March.

The 28-year-old was quietly stood down by the County Down club in April, Bangor confirming only that they were "unable to provide further details" while an investigation unfolded. The details arrived on Thursday.

In a statement, UK Anti-Doping [UKAD] confirmed that analysis of Arthurs’ sample produced an adverse analytical finding for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. The test followed routine procedures brought into the league this year.

Under UKAD regulations, athletes can see sanctions cut to three months if they prove the substance was taken out of competition and not to enhance performance. Arthurs admitted using cocaine “for recreational purposes within a social setting”, and an independent expert concluded the drug was most likely taken before the day of the Glentoran game, which Bangor lost 4-0.

That assessment proved decisive. With a provisional suspension backdated to 7 April, the striker’s ban has now been fully served.

Arthurs has already rejoined pre-season training and is available for selection when Lee Feeney’s side open their 2026-27 Irish Premiership campaign against Cliftonville at Clandeboye Park on 15 August.

It will be his ninth season in Bangor colours, a remarkable stint in which he has climbed to second on the club’s all-time goalscoring list. The goals have made him a terrace favourite; the ban has made him a test case.

This is the new reality for the domestic game. Doping control only arrived in the Irish Premiership and Women’s Premiership in 2024, funded jointly by the Irish Football Association [IFA] and the Northern Ireland Football League [NIFL]. The first high-profile sanction under that regime now sits on the record.

BBC NI has approached the IFA and NIFL for comment. The answers, when they come, will say much about how hard the sport in Northern Ireland intends to push this new line in the sand.