World Cup winner to serve two-year sentence after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs

Papu Gomez training with the Argentine national team | Imago

FOOTBALL World Cup winner to serve two-year sentence after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs

World Cup winner to serve two-year sentence after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs

Ayoola Kelechi • 23:00 - 20.10.2023

A former teammate of Lionel Messi has been banned for two years after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug while playing for Sevilla in 2022

Former Sevilla midfielder Papu Gomez has been suspended for two years after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug during his time with the LaLiga club.

Papu Gomez banned for two years

Gomez helped Argentina to success in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and was also part of the Sevilla side that won the 2023 UEFA Europa League title in his second and final season with the Spanish side.

Gomez was handed the ban by Spanish authorities after he tested positive for the banned substance terbutaline in October 2022.

The Argentine midfielder has since left Sevilla after being released this summer and currently plays with Serie A side Monza, who have released a statement on the incident.

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The Serie A side’s statement confirmed the ban for Gomez, however, it also stated that the player had only ingested the banned substance by accident while trying to treat Bronchitis.

Monza release statement on Papu Gomez

Monza’s statement read, “AC Monza announces that it has today received a notification from FIFA, through the FIGC, of the first sentence of the Spanish Anti-Doping Commission, issued against the footballer Alejandro Dario Gomez.

“The sentence provides for a two-year disqualification from sporting activities. The presence of Terbutaline was found in the footballer’s biological samples.

“It is a drug taken to calm a bronchospasm issue in October 2022, when the footballer was registered for Sevilla FC.

“Positivity is the result of an involuntary assumption. AC Monza reserves the right to evaluate the next procedural steps.”

Papu Gomez with the World Cup trophy | Imago
Papu Gomez with the World Cup trophy | Imago

It remains unclear whether Gomez will appeal the decision, although the Argentine maintains that the drug only entered his system after he took some cough syrup from his children few days before failing the said drug test.

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Tags:
Sevilla LaLiga Monza Alejandro Daro Gomez Argentina