Champion jockey Oisin Murphy cannot reapply for his licence for a total of 14 months after admitting to breaking Covid rules, misleading the British Horseracing Authority and prejudicial conduct, plus two alcohol breaches.

The rider faced an independent judiciary panel on Tuesday in relation to breaking Covid protocols in September 2020, and two failed tests for alcohol in May and October of 2021 – as well as one charge of “acting in a manner which is prejudicial to the proper integrity, conduct and good reputation of the sport”.

Murphy, who did not contest any of the charges, was given three 11-month suspensions for the two Covid breaches and conduct prejudicial to the reputation of the sport, all to run concurrently, along with a £31,111 fine.

He was also given 10 days for an alcohol positive for his test at Chester on May 5 and a further 90 days for another positive recorded at Newmarket on October 8, meaning he can return to race-riding on February 16, 2023.

The panel, chaired by His Honour James O’Mahony who sat alongside Rachel Spearing and Anthony Connell, heard the BHA’s case first, put forward by Charlotte Davison.

She outlined a timeline of events from when Murphy went on holiday on September 9, 2020 to September 19. Murphy had gone to the Greek island of Mykonos, which was on the Covid ‘red list’ at the time, but he had attempted to convince officials he had been at Lake Como.

Davison said the three-times champion jockey was afforded several opportunities to come clean about the holiday to Mykonos but chose to continue to lie, including in video interviews and in online blogs. He also repeated the lie in a TV interview after a winner at Bath.

In handing out the punishment, O’Mahony said: “He’s a young man, a brilliant jockey and a superb horseman and we’re not here to criticise you for the sake of it, but to explain our reasons and apply the rules.

“But however affected by fiction that you may have been, we conclude you thought you were above the rules and the law. And however high you are, you are not above them. They apply to all.

“All you had to do was self-isolate as countless others had to do, but you embarked on a deception that was planned, carefully calculated and detailed and it was prolonged for a significant period of time.

“You had time to think ‘what am I doing?’ but you only put your hands up when you had your back against the wall.

“The lie began on September 17, 2020 to May 25, 2021 and then you reinforced the lie by giving elaborate details to the media making reference to the “Italian bulge”.

“In the period between September 13-26 you took 74 rides with significant winnings (11 winners) and we conclude that the breach of the second offence was aggravated by the advantage you gained in the jockeys’ championship.”

Murphy’s troubles started when he picked up a seven-day careless riding ban at Ayr on August 24, with the ban running from September 7-13.

While suspended, a holiday to Mykonos was booked for Murphy to depart on September 9. However, after that date it was announced Mykonos would be placed on the ‘red list’, requiring people returning from the Greek Island to isolate for 14 days.

This came into effect on September 8 at 4.30am, with Murphy’s flight departing on the same day at 7.30am. Upon his return on September 12, Murphy should have isolated until September 26.

Shortly after his return, the BHA received an anonymous online report suggesting Murphy had been on Mykonos. Murphy was contacted by the BHA but denied this and said he had in fact been in Lake Como. The BHA accepted this as the truth as there was no evidence to suggest otherwise.

However, further information emerged which led the BHA to investigate further, with the regulator made aware of a photo posted by Murphy on social media – that was later deleted – with Mykonos tagged as the location and a video appearing to show Murphy at the holiday destination.

In videos and blogs published, Murphy said he was on holiday in Italy and when the BHA asked again about his whereabouts, the rider told officials he was in Lake Como before later admitting that had not been the case.

On May 25 last year, Murphy wrote a letter to the BHA admitting he had in fact been to Mykonos and apologised wholeheartedly for his deception.

Murphy said a “jockey’s mindset” had taken over which led to him continuing to ride when he should have been isolating. The first time he took a lateral flow test was upon returning to work at Andrew Balding’s on September 16.

Murphy said he intended to self isolate if he had any symptoms of coronovirus.

He admitted: “I probably put my own interests above those of the industry – but not intentionally.”

Murphy made a lengthy statement to the BHA panel, in which he outlined his alcohol issues and admitted lying about his whereabouts in 2020.

He concluded by saying: “I couldn’t undo the lies and deceit. Now that I’m sober I’m a different person and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have made those errors sober, but I can’t go back in time and I’m afraid they were grave issues.

“I dealt with success and failure the same. Drink was the rock I perished on. People had told me this could happen but I failed to avoid it and fell into the trap.

“The day I picked up the championship trophy, there was no element of joy in it for me. I admit all the breaches and just wish I could have dealt with them better.”

Murphy’s retained owner is Qatar Racing and spokesman Johnno Spence said: “We are going to take some time to reflect on the outcome and obviously talk to the team, and will probably make a statement tomorrow.”