FIFA ban Bulgarian international after he fails doping test

ZURICH: A Bulgaria player who tested positive for “prohibited substances” after a World Cup qualifying match was provisionally suspended by FIFA yesterday.

It is the fourth World Cup doping case FIFA are currently prosecuting.

Bulgarian media reported a spokesman for the national football association confirming the player involved was Yordan Minev (pic), a 32-year-old defender with champions Ludogorets Razgrad.

FIFA said the player, who they did not identify, failed a doping control after Bulgaria’s 2-1 win against Malta in Valletta on Sept 10.

“The analysis of the A sample has revealed the presence of prohibited substances,” FIFA said in a statement.

Minev did not play in Malta, though all squad members can be selected among the two players typically chosen at random to give samples.

FIFA imposed an initial 30-day suspension from all football, which includes Bulgaria’s final two qualifiers next month away to Armenia and home to the Czech Republic.

Italy have won the group and second-placed Bulgaria are competing for a Europe playoff place.

Ludogorets are scheduled to play two Europa League group matches during the suspension period.

FIFA have recently opened doping cases involving players from Jamaica, Morocco and Zimbabwe who tested positive after World Cup qualifiers.

In a fifth World Cup case, FIFA banned Peru midfielder Joel Sanchez for two years in March.

Sanchez tested positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine after a 1-1 draw at Bolivia in La Paz last October. He cannot play again until January 2015.

FIFA are also prosecuting a Tahiti player who tested positive at the Confederations Cup in Brazil in June.

In cases where a single player is involved in doping, teams are not sanctioned and results are not affected. — AP