The Court of Arbitration for Sport has extended rugby union winger Jason Keyter's doping ban from one year to two.
CAS acted after the International Rugby Board appealed his initial suspension by English rugby authorities, the court said Wednesday in a statement.
Keyter, who has played for the U.S. national team, tested positive for a byproduct of cocaine during an English league match between Esher RFC and Moseley RFC in October 2005. His ``B'' sample confirmed the finding.
CAS, world sport's highest tribunal, said Keyter failed to prove that he bore no significant fault or negligence for the result. It found it improbable that the 32-year-old player's drink had been ``spiked'' with cocaine in a nightclub, as he had claimed.
An English RFU panel gave Keyter a 12-month ban, but the decision was appealed by the sport's international body, which demanded the minimum suspension of two years for a first-time offence.
The suspension is backdated to Nov. 15, 2005, and will expire on Nov. 14, 2007.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
