Keighley release Williams after doping ban

Rugby league player Daley Williams has been released by League One side Keighley Cougars after receiving a four-year ban for doping.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) announced on Thursday that Williams had been handed a suspension, backdated to April this year, after testing positive for steroids, drostanolone and a metabolite of stanozolol following an out-of-competition test.

Keighley swiftly responded to the news, confirming Williams' exit from the club on Twitter.

Tweets from the Cougars' official account read: "The club can confirm that Daley Williams has been handed a four-year suspension for a doping violation.

"We remain firm in our stance against this sort of behaviour and Daley has been released with immediate effect."

UKAD chief executive Nicole Sapstead said: "This case highlights the worrying trend of young men using steroids either to improve their performance on the pitch or for cosmetic reasons.

"Not only are these young men cheating their opposition, and their team mates, but they are also cheating themselves. They either do not know, or in some cases choose to ignore, the danger they are putting themselves in by continuing to abuse these substances."