The Argentine midfielder once pushed out of the national squad now faces a substantial ban after a positive test in Seville. What happened?
The end of Papu Gómez’s tenure with Argentina’s national team arrived amid whispers of controversy and leaks, despite coach Lionel Scaloni trying to frame the absence as part of a broader shift toward both veteran and younger players. After earning World Cup glory with Argentina, Gómez moved on to new challenges abroad, but a recent doping finding at his Spanish club has cast a long shadow over his career and threatens a dramatic sanction.
In the latest development, Gómez has been handed a two-year suspension by anti-doping authorities, a result confirmed by his current club. The positive test reportedly detected terbutaline in his biological samples, relating to procedures carried out in November 2022, just days before a major international tournament. The club issued an official statement acknowledging the finding and the forthcoming consequences.
The sequence traces back to a training session in Seville when doctors ordered an anti-doping test. Gómez maintains that a brief illness led him to take a syrup for bronchospasm from his child’s medicine cabinet, without medical clearance from the club’s physicians. That decision, he argues, was a one-off response to an acute situation and not a deliberate attempt to gain an unfair advantage. Still, the governing authorities deemed the act outside the rules, and the consequence is a two-year ban that could curtail the twilight of his playing days, given his age and the level of competition involved.
According to reports, Gómez and Sevilla had been aware of potential issues for months before the formal sanction was issued. Monza, Gómez’s club at the time of the ruling, confirmed receiving notification on a recent Friday, underscoring the formal nature of the decision and the uncertainties still surrounding the case.
The fallout also touched the transfer market, as teams weighed the risk of signing a player facing a significant ban. Gómez left Sevilla as a free agent after his contract expired, and his move to Monza had offered a new opportunity to prove himself in Italian football. The ban raises questions about future playing time and the possibility of an appeal, which could influence the final length of the suspension or its conditions.
How long is the suspension for Papu Gómez?
The official statement from Monza states that the sanction bars him from practicing sport for two years. Whether Gómez will appeal is still to be determined, and any appeal could alter the final outcome or timing of the ban’s enforcement.
Could the sanction affect Gómez’s titles or records?
The punishment has the potential to affect Gómez’s medals from the World Cup with Argentina and from the European campaign with Sevilla. If the ban is enforced from the date of the positive test, there is a real possibility that the titles could be reassessed or the medals removed, depending on how the governing bodies apply the rulebook in relation to historical achievements.
Implications for the Argentina national team or Sevilla?
Under the current World Anti-Doping Code, neither the national team nor Sevilla would automatically lose a title solely because a single player tested positive. The rules specify that a title would only be at risk if more than one squad member violated anti-doping rules, which would trigger a broader penalty for the team. The stakes remain high, but the framework allows for individual accountability without automatic team loss of honors.
Source: Goal