With the news that former Ajax and Netherlands star Quincy Promes has been sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of helping smuggle cocaine, we’ve taken a look at some other footballers banned for drugs-related charges.
First of all, we should clarify that none of the players on this list have faced charges even remotely close to those Promes has been sentenced for.
A Dutch court this week found Quincy Promes guilty of importing 1,370Kg of cocaine in two batches in 2020. The 32-year-old was charged in May over his alleged involvement, with two batches of cocaine intercepted in Antwerp in January 2020.
The drugs were allegedly hidden in a shipment of sea salt imported from Brazil, with Promes and a co-suspect found guilty of importing, transporting and possessing the huge quantity of drugs.
But with the former Netherlands international currently playing in Russia, he may yet evade custody for now.
🚨 OFFICIAL: Quincy Promes has been sentenced to 6-years in prison! ⚖️
The Dutchman pleaded guilty to being involved in the importation of more than 1,300 kg of cocaine.
The value of the goods is estimated at €75 million. 💰 pic.twitter.com/dw2T3RyfQU
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) February 14, 2024
But while nobody else can lay claim to such outrageous drugs charges as Promes, plenty of footballers have been caught up in scandals.
Wether banned for taking recreational drugs or caught out on doping charges, everyone on this list has been banned at some point.
Ten Footballers Banned On Drugs Charges
10. Kolo Touré
Former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool defender Kolo Toure was banned for six months in 2011. He tested positive for banned substances and was banned on anti-doping charges.
Toure, older brother of fellow former City star Yaya, maintained he took his wife’s tablets without realising, and had no intention of enhancing his performance.
9. Edgar Davids
Famous for his dreadlocks and goggles, formerDutch midfielder Edgar Davids fell foul of drugs charges in 2001. While at Juventus, he tested positive for banned steroid nandolene.
After appealing an initial 16-month ban, his suspension was reduced to four months, allowing him to participate in the 2002 World Cup.
He claimed that homeopathic medications were the reason for high levels of the steroid in his system.
8. Adrian Mutu
Ex-Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu was banned not once but twice during his career. The Romanian tested positive for cocaine while at Stamford Bridge in 2004, and served a seven month ban.
Six years later, he was banned again while at Serie A club Fiorentina, this time for taking sibutramine. Chelsea took legal action against Mutu, asking him to repay his £15.8 million contract and the £22.6 million vost of bringing in his replacement at the club.
The court of appeal ordered him to pay €17 million in damages.
7. Pep Guardiola
Next is someone you wouldn’t expect to find on a list of footballers banned for drugs charges. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was found to be on nandrolene during his playing days at Brescia in 2001.
However, he was eventually cleared of all charges in 2009 after an appeal.
6. Andre Onana
On the other side of Manchester, current United keeper Andre Onana signed from Inter Milan last summer for £47.2 million.
But a few years ago, his career took an unfortunate turn when he was banned for nine months after testing positive for the diuretic furosemide.
Onana claims he took his wife’s tablets by mistake.
5. Fred
Another player connected with Manchester United, Fred was banned in 2015. While in Chile with the Brazil national team for the Copa America, he was caught taking the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.
While not a performance-enhancing drug itself, it can be used to mask other banned substances. FIFA handed him a four-month ban which kept him out of games for his former club, Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
4. Jake Livermore
Another relatively recent footballer banned for drugs was Jake Livermore. Now at Watford in the EFL Championship, he tested positive for cocaine while at Hull City in 2015.
He was suspended for the remainder of the season, but the ban was not extended after manager Steve Bruce revealed Livermore had taken the substance to cope with the grief of losing his newborn child.
3. Abel Xavier
Known for his outlandish hairstyles, Abel Xavier played for numerous clubs in his career. With spells at Benfica, Liverpool, PSV, Everton, Hannover, and Roma among others, he was extremely well travelled.
But it was his time in the Premier League with Middlesbrough that garnered him the most infamy. In 2005, he tested positive for anabolic steroid dianabol.
He was banned for 18 months, becoming the first Premier League player to be suspended for non-recreational drug use.
2. Paul Pogba
In August of last year, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba tested positive for increased levels of testosterone after a Serie A match for Juventus against Udinese.
The 2018 World Cup winner’s B sample also came back positive in October, with a potential four-year ban looming. In Italy, taking testosterone is also a criminal offence.
Pogba has maintained he did not know the supplement he was taking contained testosterone.
1. Diego Maradona
And last but not least, is Argentina legend, Diego Maradona. No list of footballers banned for drugs would be complete without one of the most infamous cases.
The 1986 “hand of god” instigator was banned in 1991 after testing positive for cocaine. The Napoli star served a fifteen-month ban but was in trouble again a few years later.
He was again banned for fifteen months after testing positive for ephedrine at the 1994 World Cup in the US. He returned home to Argentina, but retired abruptly after against being caught doping while with Boca Juniors.
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