The 19-year-old Hertfordshire welterweight, who was defeated in the second round of the Olympics by a Cuban, learned on his return home from Beijing that he had been banned by the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) for alleged lewd behaviour.

 

The fact that news of the suspension was leaked to a national newspaper during the Games led to criticism from Simon Clegg, the Chef de Mission of Britain's team in the Chinese capital, and to head coach Terry Edwards threatening to quit his role before London 2012.

 

Edwards appeared on behalf of Saunders during the four-hour hearing in London which concerned an incident which occured some months prior to the Games concerning allegations of lewd behaviour at a British training camp in France.

 

A video tape of the incident was allegedly posted on YouTube but was later removed.

 

The ABA disciplinary panel concluded that the incident was a "minor affair" and imposed the small fine.

 

Saunders is now free to continue his career but Edwards is still privately angry about the incident, believing that the news was leaked deliberately to undermine him at a time Britain was enjoying its best boxing performance in an Olympics since Munich 1972, including a gold medal for James DeGale.

 

He will seek reassurances that such a thing will not happen again before committing himself to continuing to London.