Ben Arthurs Completes Three-Month Ban and Aims for Fresh Start with Bangor

For three months, Bangor’s second all-time leading scorer has been stuck on the sidelines, his future wrapped in silence and speculation. Now the wait is over.

Ben Arthurs has completed a three-month suspension after an anti-doping test detected a banned substance in the aftermath of Bangor’s Irish Premiership game against Glentoran on 10 March.

The 28-year-old striker was quietly suspended by the County Down club in April, at a time when the Seasiders said only that they were "unable to provide further details" while an investigation unfolded. The details are now starkly clear.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) confirmed on Thursday that analysis of Arthurs’ sample produced an adverse analytical finding for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. Under UKAD regulations, that kind of result can carry a heavy price, but the rules also allow for a reduced three-month ban if an athlete proves the substance was taken out of competition and not to aid performance.

Arthurs admitted he had taken cocaine “for recreational purposes within a social setting”. An independent expert, called to assess the case, concluded that the most likely timeframe for the drug use was before the day of the Glentoran match, which Bangor lost 4-0.

That conclusion proved crucial. It opened the door to the minimum three-month sanction rather than a far longer exile from the game.

The provisional suspension, imposed on 7 April, has now been fully served. Arthurs has already rejoined pre-season training and, barring any late twist, will be available for selection when Lee Feeney’s side open their 2026-27 Irish Premiership campaign against Cliftonville at Clandeboye Park on 15 August.

For Bangor, it means a proven goalscorer is back just in time for the new season. For Arthurs, about to enter his ninth year at the club where he sits second on the all-time scoring charts, it is a narrow escape and a sharp line in the sand.

The Irish Football Association and Northern Ireland Football League have been approached for comment. The real response, though, will come on the pitch, when Bangor’s No 9 walks out at Clandeboye Park with little margin left for missteps.