Mamadou Sakho facing lengthy ban after declining to contest positive drug test

This should see the defender miss out on Euro 2016 for France.

Mamadoun Sakho has decided not to challenge the results of a drug test he failed after the Europa League tie against Manchester United on March 17. The French international was found to have evidence of a fat-burning substance in the sample he provided to Uefa testers at Old Trafford. Sakho could have requested the B sample of the test to be looked at but that deadline passed on Tuesday. Liverpool left Sakho out of their squad for the 2-2 draw against Newcastle United but Jurgen Klopp, his manager, insisted no suspension had been handed out. Sakho will now definitely not travel to Spain for the first leg of the Europa League semi-final against Villarreal, on Thursday. As Sakho refused to challenge the results of the positive test, his ban may date back to the Newcastle game, but that does not mean we will be seeing the £19m defender any time soon. In 2011, Kolo Toure was banned for six months after admitting to taking diet pills used by his wife. If Sakho is hit with a similar ban, he may not return to club action until October of this year. He looks extremely likely to miss out on this summer's European Championships.