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Middlesbrough defender Abel Xavier has launched a bid to clear his name after confirming he has failed a drugs test.
The 32-year-old, who played for Portugal at the last World Cup, protested his innocence after confirming he tested positive for a banned, but as yet unnamed, substance following his side's UEFA Cup draw with Xanthi in Greece on September 29.
Xavier, who could face a 12-month ban if convicted, insisted he had never intentionally "doped" himself and revealed he has submitted himself to a series of tests in an effort to prove it.
"As agreed with my employer, Middlesbrough FC yesterday evening informed the press that in the anti-doping control I had to undergo after the above-mentioned UEFA Cup match, I tested positive," he said in a statement issued through the Press Association this evening.
"I hereby confirm this fact.
"This positive test result was found in the A-sample. In the course of next week, the B-sample will be analysed.
"I am convinced that there is a reasonable and entirely harmless explanation for such positive finding, should it be confirmed by the analysis of the B-sample.
"In order to furnish this proof, I currently undergo a number of tests in which certain of my body fluids and tissues are analysed.
"Given the fact that the anti-doping regulations establish a purely objective responsibility (the athlete is guilty as of the moment when the most minor trace of a prohibited substance is found in his body), I currently have - and this is not easy - to furnish scientific and factual proof to establish that if a prohibited substance is found in my body, this is by no means because I would have had the intention to 'dope' myself. I have never had this intention.
"I sincerely trust, ladies and gentlemen of the press, that you understand that this work is not easy and assume that I am given the time to conduct the above-mentioned research and analyses under the best possible conditions.
"In this context, I am therefore not in a position to communicate with the press in more detail for the time being.
"However, I will certainly do so as soon as possible in order to prove, as I hope, my innocence, and my good faith."
The alleged offence comes under the jurisdiction of UEFA as it was revealed by testing after a game in one of their competitions.
UEFA guidelines recommend a ban of 12 months on conviction for the first time.
Sources closes to Xavier have suggested any illegal substance could have been contained in a supplement he was taking to combat a virus.
The former Liverpool and Everton defender was handed a contract at the Riverside Stadium after impressing during a trial in August and made his debut in the 2-1 Barclays Premiership victory over Arsenal on September 10.
He had played every minute of that and the five games since until he was left out of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Portsmouth, officially because of a heavy cold.
Xavier is currently suspended from all competitions until the investigation is completed, and therefore will not fly out with the rest of the party when Boro head off tomorrow for their UEFA Cup tie with Grasshoppers of Zurich in Switzerland.
Stuart Parnaby took his place at right-back against Pompey, and with Michael Reiziger having left the club and Tony McMahon still recovering from a shoulder injury, he is the only specialist currently available.
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Source: Sporting Life |
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