British boxer Amir Khan has been banned for two years after an anti-doping test revealed the presence of a banned substance following his fight against Kell Brook in February 2022.

Khan, who retired from boxing in May, accepted he broke anti-doping rules but said it was not intentional.

An independent tribunal accepted that argument, ruling out “deliberate or reckless conduct” by the 36-year-old.

“I’ve never cheated,” Khan told Sky Sports News. “But I’ve got a two-year ban now, which is quite strange and funny because I’m already retired anyway.

“There’s no comeback planned at all. But I’ve never cheated and I never will. That’s just not something I would do.”

Khan says he has “no idea” how the banned substance ended up in his system.

“I have to take some sort of responsibility. End of the day it’s been found in my system. I can honestly say this is something I would never ever do [cheating].

“It was such a tiny amount, it was no benefit at all. I should have maybe taken more precautions.

“I don’t want to remembered for something like this,” he said. “That’ll hurt me.”

Khan retired after hearing of potential drugs ban

The UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) website states ostarine is a drug designed to have similar effects to testosterone.

Khan tested positive for the drug in a Ukad test taken on 19 February 2022, the night he lost to Brook.

Ukad says it informed Khan, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) on 6 April 2022 of a potential four-year ban. Brook and event promoters Boxxer were not told.

Khan accepted two doping violations but insisted he was innocent of “intentional doping”, which led to the case being referred to the National Anti-Doping Panel.

The case was not heard by an independent tribunal until 24 January 2023, with a written decision handed down on 21 February.

In the meantime, Khan announced his retirement from boxing on 13 May 2022, just three months after his loss to Brook and less than a month after he was told of his positive test.

Ukad rejected Khan’s defence that the ostarine was transmitted by a tainted supplement or human contact, but did decide the dose was too small to be intentional or give any performance advantage.

“This case serves as a reminder that Ukad will diligently pursue anti-doping rule violations in order to protect clean sport,” Ukad chief executive Jane Rumble said.

Boxxer, which promoted the Khan-Brook event, said it was “disappointed” to learn about Khan’s ban via social media on Tuesday, adding it is “vehemently against any use of any illegal or performance-enhancing substances taken by athletes”.

Promoter Ben Shalom says Boxxer was not informed of the positive drugs test and that the BBBoC was only told on Monday, which Ukad has denied.

“Ukad has an obligation to inform parties of any adverse analytical findings in accordance with the UK anti-doping rules,” a Ukad spokesperson said. “In this case, this means Ukad was required to and did notify Mr Khan, the BBBoC and Wada.

“It is a matter for Mr Khan thereafter as to whether he wished to divulge details of his finding to any athlete support personnel he was working with.”

The ban from all sport runs from 6 April 2022 until 5 April 2024.

‘Athletes are ultimately responsible for what they ingest’

Last October, British sprinter CJ Ujah was banned for 22 months after he tested positive for two banned substances, including ostarine, at the Tokyo Olympics.

Like Khan, Ujah denied intentionally doping but received a lengthy ban due to strict liability.

“Strict liability means athletes are ultimately responsible for what they ingest and for the presence of any prohibited substances in a sample,” Rumble explained.

Fellow Briton Conor Benn failed two voluntary drug tests for female fertility drug clomifene before his cancelled bout with Chris Eubank Jr in October.

Benn was allowed back into the World Boxing Council rankings after it ruled his failed drug test was not intentional and could have been caused by a “highly elevated consumption” of eggs.

However, he remains under investigation by Ukad and the BBBofC, and is unable to fight in the United Kingdom as he does not currently have a boxing licence.

Benn has maintained his innocence but faces the same “strict liability” rule as Khan.

‘Ukad announcement adds different dimension to Khan swansong’ – analysis

Coral Barry, BBC Sport

Amir Khan is one of Great Britain’s greatest boxers. His silver medal as a 17-year-old at the Athens Olympics in 2004 made him into a household name. He was a world champion, fought the best, from Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to Terence Crawford, and his retirement fight against Kell Brook was a typically thrilling end to a storied career.

The Brook fight was 17 years in the making and a huge event that captured the attention of boxing and the wider sports world, despite it being well past its sell-by date. Both men were 35 when the fight happened and have since retired.

Ukad’s announcement adds a different dimension to Khan’s swansong.

Testing positive on fight night has become more and more unusual considering it is one of the few times a big boxing star can be guaranteed they will be tested.

Khan has been cleared of intentionally ingesting ostarine after a lengthy investigation, but strict liability carries a mandatory two-year ban regardless of intent.