BERAHINO: MY DRINK WAS SPIKED
STOKE STRIKER’S CLAIM OVER DRUG BAN
Saido Berahino has claimed the eight- week drug ban he served earlier this season came as a result of his drink being spiked in a nightclub.
Speaking about the incident for the first time, Berahino insisted he had done nothing wrong because he was the victim of somebody out to ‘get’ him.
in February Sportsmail revealed the striker had served a suspension in secret after failing an Fa out-of-competition test for a recreational drug. But giving an interview to BBC
Football Focus, Berahino said: ‘To be banned for something you really haven’t done is hard to take. You go on a night out, you don’t know who you are around and there are people who are out to get you.
‘of course, i was in a nightclub, so i hold my hand up for being irresponsible. From then on it all crashed down. To this day, i still cannot understand who would want to do that to me.’
Berahino claims the level of drug found in his system was ‘really low’, which he argues is evidence it was not taken intentionally.
The 23-year-old did not play for West Bromwich albion between September and January, the month he joined Stoke for £12million. his absence was put down to fitness, which his former club still insist was the case initially, and the ban was kept hidden due to Fa regulations.
english football’s governing body maintain confidentiality on all positive tests out of competition. after breaking the news of Berahino’s drugs ban, Sportsmail revealed there were 13 other instances of players serving similar suspensions in secret from the previous four seasons.
Upon signing for Stoke, Berahino said he had not been featuring because of his refusal to sign a new contract at the hawthorns. But Sportsmail revealed the true cause just before his new team were due to play his old one in the Premier League, provoking a storm. allegations about how the story emerged flew between the clubs, with particular enmity between rival bosses Mark hughes and Tony Pulis.
despite Pulis and West Bromwich keeping his drug suspension secret, Berahino said: ‘ no one protected me at that club. it was hard not doing what i really love — that’s what killed me the most.
‘ Waking up in the morning, playing football and having a smile on my face. not doing that was the hardest thing for me.
‘i was depressed. every morning i walked into the training ground, i didn’t want to be there.
‘Going from loving something and hating the place that has made you is hard to take. hate is a strong word but i really didn’t want to be there.
‘That is one of the reasons i didn’t sign the contracts they put on the table. it was not about money — it was about my happiness.’
Berahino has made six Premier League appearances under hughes, including two starts, since joining Stoke. The sculptor who created the statue of Cristiano ronaldo that is on display at Madeira airport has defended his work and insisted the real Madrid forward is happy with the final version.
Madeiran artist emanuel Santos’s bronze bust of ronaldo was ridiculed for its strange expression and the fact it bears little resemblance to the former Manchester United winger.
But Santos said he and ronaldo are happy with it. he told Globo.com: ‘Cristiano saw the photos and only asked for some wrinkles to be changed.
‘he said it made him look older and asked for it to be thinned out a bit to make it smoother and more jovial. But he gave it the go-ahead and said he liked what he saw.’