WORLD CUP USA ’94 : Report: Maradona Test Positive : Group D: News services identify Argentine star as culprit and say banned drug he used was ephedrine, a common nasal decongestant.
IRVING, Tex. — Argentine superstar Diego Maradona reportedly is the player who tested positive for using the banned drug ephedrine during the World Cup.
FIFA said Wednesday that a player tested positive for drugs, but would not identify him, pending an examination of a second urine sample.
But Noticias Argentinas, a national news service in Argentina, said the player was Maradona. And Radio Continental of Buenos Aires said the drug was ephedrine, a common nasal decongestant used to treat asthma, hay fever and allergies.
Radio Continental also quoted Julio Grondona, president of the Argentine Football Assn. as saying “the player is Diego Maradona.”
“The team’s continuity in the World Cup is not affected by this,” Grondona was quoted as saying. “This does not affect the other players. They don’t even know about it. I want to be the one to tell them.
“An AFA delegation headed by our lawyer is in Los Angeles awaiting the results of the second test.”
Noticias Argentinas also reported that Coach Alfio Basile included Maradona in his lineup for tonight’s game against Bulgaria at Dallas.
Guido Tognoni, spokesman for soccer’s world governing body, said the result of the second test would be announced today. That test was made Wednesday in Los Angeles.
“There has been a positive test,” Tognoni said. “The results are still pending. We will disclose the results at 3 p.m. tomorrow.
“We are not going to name the player at this stage. The test came from one of the recent games, but not from today’s games.”
When asked if the player was Maradona and the drug was ephedrine, Tognoni added, “I do not know and if I did know, I could not say. There is a chance that the second test will be negative and then we say nothing.”
Under FIFA’s rules, any player tested positive must undergo a follow-up test, which is analyzed in the presence of his national soccer federation. The player gives two urine simples, with only the first sample tested. If the test is positive, then the second sample is examined.
Two players have been banned by FIFA for positive dope tests at the World Cup.
In 1974, FIFA banned Ernest Jean-Joseph of Haiti from the competition, although team officials refused to send him home.
Four years later in Argentina, Scotland winger Willie Johnston tested positive for an illegal substance he used for medicinal purposes and he was sent home after playing one game.
American swimmer Rick DeMont was stripped of a gold medal at the 1972 Olympics when he tested positive for using ephedrine.
