UEFA has handed Athletic Club defender Yeray Álvarez a 10-month suspension after he tested positive for a banned substance linked to medication used to prevent hair loss following cancer treatment.
The Spanish centre-back failed a doping test after Athletic’s UEFA Europa League semifinal defeat to Manchester United in May and accepted a voluntary provisional suspension in early June, UEFA announced.
Following an investigation by two inspectors from UEFA’s ethics and disciplinary department, the governing body imposed a 10-month ban that will run until April 2 next year, covering all competitions. However, Álvarez will be allowed to train and use club facilities from February 2, UEFA confirmed.
Álvarez, 30, previously stepped away from football in 2017 to undergo treatment for testicular cancer. Upon returning to play, he began taking medication to combat alopecia. He stated that the positive test result was caused by “inadvertently taking a medicine to prevent hair loss that contained a prohibited substance.”
UEFA identified the banned substance as Canrenone.
Athletic will play in the Champions League this season after finishing fourth in the LaLiga.
Álvarez confirmed his provisional suspension in July in a social media post, where he said a hair loss prevention medicine had contained a banned substance.
“After studying the case, we have established that I tested positive because I unintentionally took a hair loss prevention medicine containing a banned substance,” Álvarez said.
“The disciplinary procedure is currently under investigation and subject to confidentiality so I am provisionally suspended and [I] am not authorised to make any further public statements.
“I very much regret this situation but, with the support of the club, I am working on my defence in the belief that I will be able to return to the field of play as soon as possible.”
