Manchester City's veteran defender has been suspended for six months after failing a drug test. Toure claims he failed the test after taking his wife's diet pills.
Twist! It turns out Kolo Touré's drug of choice is neither nefarious nor amongst the performance enhancers we've come to associate with professional athletes. If is, however, a performance enhancer, if you consider keeping weight off beneficial to playing soccer. Unless you're Ronaldo or Cristian Fabbiani, you probably do think less pounds, better play, which may make the Manchester City defender's indiscretion understandable.
According to Arsène Wenger, Touré's former manager who has spoken to the suspended defender, the Ivorian's positive test stems from diet pills. Wenger contends Touré took a diet pill belonging to his wife while failing to check the product's contents for banned substances, in quotes distributed by The Guardian:
"He wants to control his weight because that's where he has some problems and he took the product of his wife," the Frenchman said, before quipping: "Never trust your wife! That is how he was caught."
Wenger went on to claim Touré, who spent seven years at Arsenal, lives a "clean" and "honest" life, labeling the positive test "a mistake." However, it does appear Touré will not contest the validity of the positive test, leaving the FA to decide whether the City defender will play again this season.
Manchester City has confirmed on their club's web site that central defender Kolo Touré has "tested positive for a specified substance." The club confirmed that the English FA informed the Ivorian that his A-sample had failed their tests. As a result, Touré has been suspended pending testing of the B-sample. Should that come back positive, Touré will be subject to suspension that would keep him out for the rest of the season.
Manchester City's full statement, also available on the club's website, is the minimum you'd expect from the club - an explanation as to why Touré will not be playing, a declaration that there will be no further comment:
Manchester City confirm that the FA has informed Kolo Toure that an ‘A-sample’ provided by him has tested positive for a specified substance.
As result of this, he has been suspended from participating in all first team and non-first team matches pending the outcome of the legal process.
There will be no further comment from the football club at this stage.
Touré has made 22 league appearances for Manchester City, who currently sit third in league. The Cote d'Ivoire international was purchased last year from Arsenal and briefly served as club captain under former manager Mark Hughes. If Touré is suspended long-term, Micah Richards is most likely to see the bulk of playing time in central defense, along side Vincent Kompany.
While the B-sample is tested and the legal process plays out, Touré will be prevented from taking part in any first team activities, including this Saturday's match against Wigan Athletic.
FA Bans Man City's Kolo Toure 6 Months For Failed Drug Test
The Football Association has suspended Manchester City defender Kolo Toure six months for failing a drug test. Toure tested positive for an unspecified drug and was suspended indefinitely back on March 2. His suspension will be retroactive to March 2, meaning that he will only miss a few matches in City's 2011-2012 season.
"This has been a difficult period, and I am sad to have missed the team's triumph of securing Champions League football and the FA Cup," Toure said. "But I am relieved that I will be able to return to football in September and thank the FA's commission for their understanding."
Toure said the positive test was from taking his wife's diet pills and that he did not know the pills contained substances that were banned. The independent regulatory commission was satisfied that Toure did not knowingly break rules and his positive test was not from an attempt to enhance performance or mask another performance-enhancing drug.
The Ivorian will be eligible to play again on September 2, but he will be target tested for the next years. That two-year period begins on May 26. He will not be eligible to play in any football match or participate in any football-related activity except for anti-doping education until his six-month ban is over.
Toure had played 22 matches for City before testing positive. Even without Toure, the Citizens were able to maintain their spot in the top part of the table and qualify for the UEFA Champions League for next season.
The ban that the FA handed down to Toure is lighter than the one the FA handed Rio Ferdinand when he missed a test in 2003. Ferdinand was suspended for eight months.
May 26 3:55p by Ryan Rosenblatt - 0 comments