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Dom Taylor has issued an apology after he was\u00a0thrown out of the PDC World Darts Championship following a failed drugs test<\/a>, citing family tragedy and heartbreak as a reason \u2013 but not an \u2018excuse\u2019 \u2013 for his turn to \u2018substances\u2019.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old got off to a dream start in this year\u2019s tournament, seeing off\u00a0Sweden<\/a>\u2019s Oskar Lukasiak with a comprehensive 3-0 victory on debut at Alexandra Palace.<\/p>\n But Taylor\u2019s joy quickly turned to despair after he produced an \u2018adverse analytical finding\u2019 in a random drugs test, leaving\u00a0the Professional\u00a0Darts<\/a>\u00a0Corporation with little option but to ban him from the competition.<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s dismissal meant Jonny Clayton\u00a0received a bye into the third round. Next up, the Welshman will lock horns with Niels Zonneveld, who got the better of 2023 world champion Michael Smith in round two.<\/p>\n \u2018In line with its ongoing anti-doping procedures the PDC and DRA are conducting drug testing during the 2025\/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace,\u2019 the Darts Regulation Authority confirmed in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n \u2018On 19 December, the DRA was notified of an adverse analytical finding in respect of the player Dom Taylor resulting from a test conducted on 14 December.<\/p>\n \u2018As a result of this and in line with relevant DRA processes, Dom Taylor has been suspended from participating in any DRA regulated events with immediate effect.<\/p>\n \u2018This matter will now be the subject of a disciplinary process in line with the relevant DRA Anti-Doping Rules.<\/p>\n \u2018The DRA will not be making any further comment pending the outcome of this confidential process.\u2019<\/p>\n In January, Taylor received a two-year suspension from darts after testing positive for a banned substance while competing at the Players Championship Finals\u00a0in the previous year.<\/p>\n This ban was subsequently reduced to three months after the substance in question was found not to be performance enhancing. It was then shortened again to just one month after Taylor agreed to complete a three-month treatment programme approved by UK Anti-Doping.<\/p>\n In the wake of Taylor\u2019s latest wrongdoing, the Bristolian has received a mixture of both support and criticism from fans and pundits in the sport.<\/p>\n Perhaps wisely, Taylor has decided to keep a low profile in the days since the news broke of his failed drugs test \u2013 but he has now broken his silence with a lengthy post on his\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0page, going into detail about his state of mind after a series of heartbreaking experiences in his personal life.<\/p>\n \u2018The first thing I need to say is sorry!!\u2019 he wrote.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m sorry to every single one of my family, friends, sponsors, management team and most important of all, you guys. All my fans, be it outside of darts or inside of darts.<\/p>\n \u2018Also, I need to apologise for blatant lying to you all in my interview after my win against Oskar [Lukasiak] last week, as I have been lying to myself and everyone around me.<\/p>\n \u2018It is no excuse but all I can put it down to are the traumas I had in my early teen life, finding my deceased nan in bed at the age of 12.<\/p>\n \u2018Then, within a year, multiple other events happened including my brother having a heart attack and being non-responsive for 45 minutes, along with a very close friend dying of a brain tumour, which all hit me very, very hard.<\/p>\n \u2018My parents being the great parents they are, got me counselling and help at the time but in hindsight I should have had more than just that little bit.\u2019<\/p>\n Taylor, ranked 65 in the world, added: \u2018I have let many people down to say the least but most importantly I\u2019ve let down four main people, my two daughters and my two biggest fans. My grampy passed before I made it.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018All I\u2019ve ever wanted was just to make everyone proud, which I hope I have done until this moment.<\/p>\n \u2018I know everyone, including my dad and family, are very upset and disappointed in me.<\/p>\n \u2018The anniversary of my daughter\u2019s death this year hit me very hard, too, and that\u2019s when I started struggling with my\u00a0mental health<\/a>\u00a0again, and turned back to substances to allow my body and head cope with things. Not needing to worry about anything.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dom Taylor has issued an apology after he was\u00a0thrown out of the PDC World Darts Championship following a failed drugs test, citing family tragedy and heartbreak as a reason \u2013 but not an \u2018excuse\u2019 \u2013 for his turn to \u2018substances\u2019. The 27-year-old got off to a dream start in this year\u2019s tournament, seeing off\u00a0Sweden\u2019s Oskar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2251845954_841d9c-300x212.webp\")
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