15 Premier League players tested positive for banned substance

Daily Mail announced at least 15 Premier League players who failed to pass doping tests between 2015 and 2020. However, not a single player was banned.

Twelve of these tested positive for banned performance-enhancing substances. Another player is still under investigation after a doping test from 5 months ago.

In particular, a total of 88 players from England, Wales and Scotland failed the doping tests. The results showed that the analyzed samples of this group of players showed signs of being related to banned substances.

The UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) only made this report publicly available after it was published Daily Mail send them a “Freedom of Information” request.

In the Premier League, there were four positive cases for the stimulant Ritalin and one for the testosterone booster Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone commonly abused in cycling and mixed martial arts. .

The remaining positives were for the steroids prednisolone and derivatives, as well as the diuretic indapamide, which can aid weight loss and act as a drug that makes other banned substances more difficult to identify. .

For those who are not banned from playing, UKAD said the decision not to sanction is usually because a player accidentally uses a banned substance or uses a banned substance under the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) system, also known as an Exemption. due to treatment.

Only 39 out of 88 positive cases were identified by UKAD in response to a freedom of information request Daily Mail. In these 39 cases, the 15 Premier League players mentioned above were not banned. In contrast, 24 players who did not play in the Premier League received a suspension from 3 months to 4 years.

UKAD refused to publicly identify the other 49 cases for various reasons.