Sports / Soccer
Manchester City defender Kolo Toure fails drugs test
03 Mar 2011 at 15:17hrs | Views
Manchester City defender Kolo Toure has been suspended after testing positive for a specified substance.
The 29-year-old was informed by the Football Association that an A sample he provided had returned positive.
City confirmed in a statement that Toure had been suspended "pending the outcome of the legal process".
Ivory Coast international Toure, whose brother Yaya also plays for City, is a former club captain who joined City from Arsenal in July 2009.
The defender has gone on to make more than 50 appearances for City, although he was not involved in Wednesday's FA Cup victory over Aston Villa.
The failed test automatically triggered the suspension and it is understood that Toure was left out of the squad because the club had been made aware of the situation.
The City statement added: "There will be no further comment from the football club at this stage."
And on Thursday evening an FA statement said: "The FA can confirm that a player has been provisionally suspended from playing pending investigation, having tested positive for the use of a prohibited substance."
The World Anti-Doping Agency defines a specified substance as one that is "more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation".
The Wada punishment for such a positive test ranges from a warning to a two-year ban.
Hamilton Academicals midfielder Simon Mensing recently served a four-week ban after a specified substance was detected in his system.
The 28-year-old tested positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine at the end of January and subsequently missed five matches after a period of ineligibility was imposed on him.
The player maintained he was unaware he had ingested the substance while using a dietary supplement - an explanation which was accepted by UK Anti-Doping.
Toure was the skipper of City until the start of the current campaign, when the armband was passed to Carlos Tevez.
The Ivorian defender was brought to the Premier League by Arsenal in 2002 and he remained with the London club until his £14m transfer to City.
Toure, who is under contract with City until the summer of 2013, was one of several high-profile arrivals in the summer of 2009 as then-manager Mark Hughes spent more than £100m on new players.
City are currently pursuing trophies on three fronts. They will play Reading in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, are set to take on Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League and lie third in the Premier League, 10 points behind leaders Manchester United.
The 29-year-old was informed by the Football Association that an A sample he provided had returned positive.
City confirmed in a statement that Toure had been suspended "pending the outcome of the legal process".
Ivory Coast international Toure, whose brother Yaya also plays for City, is a former club captain who joined City from Arsenal in July 2009.
The defender has gone on to make more than 50 appearances for City, although he was not involved in Wednesday's FA Cup victory over Aston Villa.
The failed test automatically triggered the suspension and it is understood that Toure was left out of the squad because the club had been made aware of the situation.
The City statement added: "There will be no further comment from the football club at this stage."
And on Thursday evening an FA statement said: "The FA can confirm that a player has been provisionally suspended from playing pending investigation, having tested positive for the use of a prohibited substance."
The Wada punishment for such a positive test ranges from a warning to a two-year ban.
Hamilton Academicals midfielder Simon Mensing recently served a four-week ban after a specified substance was detected in his system.
The 28-year-old tested positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine at the end of January and subsequently missed five matches after a period of ineligibility was imposed on him.
The player maintained he was unaware he had ingested the substance while using a dietary supplement - an explanation which was accepted by UK Anti-Doping.
Toure was the skipper of City until the start of the current campaign, when the armband was passed to Carlos Tevez.
The Ivorian defender was brought to the Premier League by Arsenal in 2002 and he remained with the London club until his £14m transfer to City.
Toure, who is under contract with City until the summer of 2013, was one of several high-profile arrivals in the summer of 2009 as then-manager Mark Hughes spent more than £100m on new players.
City are currently pursuing trophies on three fronts. They will play Reading in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, are set to take on Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League and lie third in the Premier League, 10 points behind leaders Manchester United.
Source - BBC
