He received a ban after using a banned IV drip in 2016
Samir Nasri has had his doping ban increased from six months to 18 months after an unsuccessful appeal.
UEFA initially handed him a six month ban in February after he received an intravenous treatment at a Los Angeles clinic in breach of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s rules.
The former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder appealed the ban, but UEFA’s ethics and disciplinary inspector argued that the initial ban was actually insufficient and decided to extend it by a year.
The ban is officially backdated to 1st July 2017, despite the fact that Nasri has played since then, making eight apperances for Turkish side Antalyaspor.
A statement from UEFA said: “The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body’s decision of 22 February 2018 is amended as follows:
1. The player Samir Nasri is suspended for eighteen (18) months. This suspension will start running on 1 July 2017.
2. The player Samir Nasri is allowed to return to training, with any football club starting from 1 November 2018.”
The story of Nasri receiving the treatmemt in Los Angeles broke via social media back in December 2016, when the ‘Drip Doctors’ clinic published photos of Nasri with nurses who worked at the clinic.
The midfielder might be able to resume training with a club in November, but it’s unlikely that there will be many takers among Europe’s elite. One would suspect that a return to Turkey is more likely than a return to England.
