MEXICO CITY, Aug 13 (Reuters) – A player and team doctor
from a Mexican second division side have been handed doping
bans, the Mexican Football Federation said on Friday.

Jose Antonio Garcia of Pumas Morelos will serve a six-month
ban retroactive from April 24 after testing positive for a
banned stimulant.

Team doctor Armando Ramadan was suspended for a year from
Friday as the man responsible for the players’ fitness.
(Reporting by Rex Gowar in Buenos Aires; Editing by Peter
Rutherford; to query or comment on this story email
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

TIGNES, France (AP)—France players have undergone random doping tests at their
World Cup training camp in the Alpine resort of Tignes.

The French football federation said Sunday that a total of 18 tests on 14
players were carried out at the team hotel on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday
morning.

No further details were released.

Coach Raymond Domenech said only that “10 players were tested yesterday
(Saturday) afternoon, eight this morning” and that “four players” were tested
twice. He did not disclose names of the players tested.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP)—Egypt football player Hossam Ghaly reportedly tested
positive for doping and could be suspended for two years.

Ghaly, who plays for Saudi team Al Nasser, reportedly tested positive for a
banned substance last month after his club’s cup match against Al Hilal.

Al Riyadh daily reported Wednesday that the Saudi Football Association’s
disciplinary committee has told Al Nasser to temporarily suspend Ghaly until the
end of investigation.

Another newspaper, Al-Riyadhi, said Ghaly did not join the team in Tuesday’s
training.

Lawyers working on behalf of Adrian Mutu say they are confident the Fiorentina player will escape severe punishment in relation to two failed doping tests.

CONI (the Italian Olympic Committee) will listen to Mutu and his defence team when the first hearing into his offence takes place next week. He failed two doping tests in January after traces of the banned substance subitramine were found in samples he gave on January 10 and 20, 2010.

Mutu is currently on a temporary ban domestically and internationally while the authorities investigate, but his lawyers have confidence things will end well.

“We are optimistic and have good faith. We will prove that the substance was not taken to boost his performance and experts have showed us there was a small amount of it in the product,” Antonio D’Avirro told TGR Toscana.

Michele Ducci, who is working alongside D’Avirro on behalf of Mutu, is hoping previous sanctions are not taken into account. Mutu receieved a lengthy ban in 2004 for taking cocaine at Chelsea.

“We hope this incident is not punished as a second violation. It’s clear that Mutu is sorry, but we are confident things will be resolved in the best way,” he added.

The initial hearing will take place at CONI headquarters at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on March 3. Judges will then gather on March 20, when Mutu’s sentence will be passed.

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Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu will give evidence to a Coni (Italian Olympic Committee) hearing in relation to his doping test failures next Wednesday.

A statement on Coni’s official website reads:

“The anti-doping office has called Adrian Mutu to the hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, March 3 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, after he tested positive during doping controls on January 10 and January 20, 2010.”

Mutu tested positive for the banned substance Subitramine on both occasions and he was given a temporary ban while the authorities investigated his case.

He will now respond to the enquiry next Wednesday. Speculative reports at the time of the test failures claimed he would face anything between a one and four year ban.

But Romanian paper Prosport.ro claims Mutu’s defence lawyers will argue that the player had always acted in good faith. Furthermore, it is suggested the Italian authorities will not consider his previous ban for cocaine during his time at Chelsea.

This means he could be slapped with just a one-month ban when judges gather to pass sentence on March 20.

FLORENCE, Italy (AP)—Romania striker Adrian Mutu’s troubled career has
apparently taken another negative turn with a positive doping test.

The Italian Olympic Committee said Thursday that traces of Sibutramina, a
stimulant that counters hunger, were discovered in the Fiorentina striker’s
system following a Serie A game with Bari on Jan. 10.

FILE – In this Jan. 10, 2010 f…

AP – Jan 28, 9:43 am EST

FILE – In this Oct. 25, 2009 f…

AP – Jan 28, 9:42 am EST

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The 31-year-old Mutu is already facing the prospect of having to pay ?17
million (US$24 million) compensation after being fired by former club Chelsea
for using cocaine. Another doping offense could result in a ban of up to four
years.

Mutu was told of the news while training with Fiorentina. He was pulled
aside by club medical director Paolo Manetti and team manager Roberto Ripa for a
discussion, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported on its Web site.

After struggling for months, Mutu had just started to regain his form,
scoring five goals this month—including one in the game against Bari.

The Swiss Federal Court is nearing a ruling on Mutu’s appeal against the
Court of Arbitration for Sport, which said he must pay Chelsea compensation.

CAS ruled in July that FIFA was right to award Chelsea compensation because
Mutu breached his contract in 2004.

Chelsea fired Mutu for failing a drug test, then got nothing when he served
a seven-month ban and rebuilt his career in Italy. Mutu joined Juventus as a
free agent and then was sold after one season for ?8 million (US$11 million) to
Serie A rival Fiorentina.

Mutu has enjoyed the most successful period of his career at the Florence
club.