The Argentine, marginalized from the national team, now faces a heavy sanction for a positive test in Seville. What happened?
The end of the career of Papu Gomez It couldn’t be more bitter. After winning the World Cup with Argentina, the midfielder was marginalized from the national team amid rumors of witchcraft and leaks, despite coach Lionel Scaloni trying to lay cold feet and say his non-call-up was part of a new process with older players. players, young people.
In the last market, Papu arranged his arrival at Monza after leaving Seville, and now a positive doping has come to light at the Spanish club for which he will receive a very heavy sanction.
In GOAL We tell you the details:
What happened to Papu Gómez’s doping?
“Relevo” announced on Friday that ‘Papu’ Gómez has been given a two-year suspension by the anti-doping authorities. The information was confirmed hours later by Monza itself, the Argentine footballer’s new club.
El Papu tested positive for a banned substance in a test carried out in November 2022, days before the World Cup in Qatar. “The presence of terbutaline was confirmed in the footballer’s biological samples,” the Italian club confirmed in an official statement issued this Friday.
It all happened almost a year ago, when doctors were surprised to carry out an anti-doping test during Sevilla’s training. According to Gómez’s version, he had spent a bad night days before with bronchospasm and for that reason he decided to take a syrup from one of his children without prior consultation with the doctors of the Seville club.
This behavior is not allowed by the authorities and now the two-year sentence endangers the continuity of his career as a professional footballer (he is already 35 years old), although it remains to be seen whether he will appeal the sanction and manages to let it shrink.
According to “Relevo”, Gómez and Sevilla had been aware of this situation for months when they received the report, although this week they received the two-year sanction. Monza assured that it received the notice on Friday, October 20.
Precisely for this reason, the player had problems finding a team last summer: no one wanted to take risks in view of the possible punishment that was about to be decided. For example, ‘el Papu’ eventually left Nervión as a free agent, prematurely ending a contract that expired in 2024. At Monza, his new team, he played only two games in October.
How long will Papu Gómez be suspended for doping?
“The penalty provides for a disqualification from practicing sport for two years,” reads the official statement from AC Monza. However, it remains to be seen whether Gómez decides to appeal the sanction.
The sanction would tarnish Papu Gómez’s record: will they strip him of his titles?
The punishment could see Gómez lose the world championship title with Argentina and the UEFA Europa League championship title with Sevilla.
If he were to be suspended, as is usually the case, from the day the player tested positive for a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, he would lose the medal that accredits him as world champion with Argentina and as champion of the UEFA Europa League with the Spanish team.
Could this have consequences for the Argentina national team or Sevilla?
According to the World Anti-Doping Code, neither his national team nor his club would be at risk of losing the title for having had a player in their ranks who had tested positive. The regulations, in Article 11, say that only if more than two members of a team had committed an anti-doping rule violation would the team also be penalized with the loss of the title.
Source: Goal