Kolo tested positive for a specified substance

[mcfc/wire]

Look the chances are he is going to get a good ban . So do we stand by him (£100k a week for doing nothing) or do we sack him and risk upsetting Yaya ?

[Beefymcfc]

Sounds like a storm in a tea-cup where he has unknowingly taken a supplement that has a trace of a band substance. The correct protocols have been taken and we'll see if it is a major issue.

[Esky]

Look the chances are he is going to get a good ban . So do we stand by him (£100k a week for doing nothing) or do we sack him and risk upsetting Yaya ?

Can't see any reason why we'd sack him.

[Moonchesteri]

Look the chances are he is going to get a good ban . So do we stand by him (£100k a week for doing nothing) or do we sack him and risk upsetting Yaya ?

Can't see any reason why we'd sack him.

Yeah, but we should withhold his wages for the period imo.

[PeterParker]

Ok, the psiho left two days ago, now this news about Kolo. The question in my mind is, do we risk anything? Point Deduction or other crap? Because is a little odd that the doc left before this scandal, and some might say the club knew about Kolo's substance abuse and still we used him in many games.

[Avalon]

I find it funny how the word "substance" causes a lot of people to think he took, either performance enhancing drugs, or recreational drugs. Let's have the Oxford Dictionary explain to us what substance means:

Pronunciation:/ˈsʌbst(ə)ns/noun
1 a particular kind of matter with uniform properties:
a steel tube coated with a waxy substance, an intoxicating, stimulating, or narcotic chemical or drug, especially an illegal one:
he was suspended for using a banned substance
[as modifier] : substance abuse
2 [mass noun] the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists and which has a tangible, solid presence:
proteins compose much of the actual substance of the bodythe most important or essential part of something; the real or essential meaning:
the substance of the Maastricht Treatythe subject matter of a text, speech, or work of art, especially as contrasted with the form or style in which it is presented.
3 [mass noun] the quality of having a solid basis in reality or fact:
the claim has no substancethe quality of being dependable or stable:
some were inclined to knock her for her lack of substancethe quality of being important, valid, or significant:
he had yet to accomplish anything of substancewealth and possessions:
a woman of substance
4 [mass noun] Philosophythe essential nature underlying phenomena, which is subject to changes and accidents.

So, it doesn't has to be a drug, in any form. On the banned substances list are a lot of substances that are found in a lot of dietry pills/powders and what not. Many people get caught with substances that they took without realising. This doesn't actually mean it alters his performance in any way.

If increase/decrease in performances was a clue to a player having taken drugs, then we could look at players like Nani, Nasri, Adams, van Persie, Elmander, Micah Richards, Ireland, Tevez, Giggs, Rooney and a whole longer list. Playing well and having form can be down to many factors.

So let's jump on the "worst case scenario" bandwagon and simply wait until we find out more. A substance had been found, which the Anti Dope Association considered plausible if found in dietry pills. Yeah, he might be banned for x weeks, but he could also be fined instead. Sometimes we like to blow unnecessary steam.

[Mike J]

Look the chances are he is going to get a good ban . So do we stand by him (£100k a week for doing nothing) or do we sack him and risk upsetting Yaya ?

if he has knowingly gone against club rules that are probably stated in his contract surely we could withold his wages anyway?

[Ted Hughes]

If he didn't realise that diet pills can cause problems then he's thick as shit. How long has he lived over here & yet he missed the furore in the media about fellow sportsman Shane Warne being banned for a year for taking diet pills?

With access to the internet etc, he didn't even bother to try & look up the possibilities before taking them?

Does anyone actually believe that?

[Avalon]

I do. It happened to the rugby player who was banned for 4 weeks.

And as somebody who watches Tour de France, many competitors have been pulled into question for having substances found in their body. Though... not too long ago a whole doping scandal was revealed. Aside from that though, last year's winner was accused of doping and he was cleared.

So in the end, Kolo could very well be in the same boat.

[blues2win]

We shouldn't rush to convict until the B sample has been tested. Having said that the chances of it testing negative are very small indeed. If it's positive he's guilty in the eyes of the authorities and he's left with a plea of mitigation ie I didn't realise, I was given assurances by the shop etc. The FA are not likely to be very sympathetic and he will most likely get a hefty ban.

I am perfectly prepared to believe that he didn't know what was in the supplement ( it wasn't coumadin ffs which is a prescription drug). The key question is whether he spoke to the club doctors before taking the supplement. If he didn't, as seems likely, I don't see how the club can fail to take a tough line. I presume there is a strict code of conduct regarding notifying the club before putting anything in your mouth other than ordinary food and drink. If you breach that it could be regarded as a case of gross misconduct which could result in cancellation of his contract. If the club doctors did know and he was offered reassurance then the medical staff are in deep trouble and I would be much more sympathetic to Kolo. Somehow I doubt it though.

Realistically we can manage without Kolo till the end of the season. Lescott has run into some form and then there's Vinnie. Boateng looks to be a lot more comfortable in the centre and then there's Dedryk. Obviously a blow but manageable. The difficulty could come if Kolo starts to feel, however unreasonably, that the club hasn't stood behind him. That would put Yaya in a very difficult position. For that reason alone I suspect the club will wait for the end of the FA legal process before they take any action at club level ( the current suspension was really an automatic consequence of the drug finding not a punishment). The other worry is whether this will have an effect on club morale generally. They played well enough on Wednesday though.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

I do. It happened to the rugby player who was banned for 4 weeks.

And as somebody who watches Tour de France, many competitors have been pulled into question for having substances found in their body. Though... not too long ago a whole doping scandal was revealed. Aside from that though, last year's winner was accused of doping and he was cleared.

So in the end, Kolo could very well be in the same boat.

You are using professional cycling as an excuse? THE most dirtiest sport out there.

One thing that I can think of that would make this alright is if he took malaria medication that was on the banned substances list without knowing. Kolo has had malaria for few years and to my knowledge it will never fully go away.

[lets all have a disco]

Aparently it was a diet pill off his missus.

If it was one of those T5 jobbies they have speed in them.

The fact remains as a pro footballer he shouldnt have put jack shit in his body without getting it checked out,if he gets a two year ban his career with City is over.

[Goaters 103]

Gab Marcotti on Twitter

Kolo Toure: would guess given nature of offence, if B-sample positive, will get between 3 and 6 months

Am told supplement packaging claimed "all natural" ingredients. May be part of his defence. Might mitigate punishment, but still in trouble

[Ted Hughes]

I do. It happened to the rugby player who was banned for 4 weeks.

And as somebody who watches Tour de France, many competitors have been pulled into question for having substances found in their body. Though... not too long ago a whole doping scandal was revealed. Aside from that though, last year's winner was accused of doping and he was cleared.

So in the end, Kolo could very well be in the same boat.

Anybody who takes ANYTHING out of the ordinary without getting it thouroughly checked out is taking the piss imo. Some of them get away with it but it's just down to people taking pity on them as it's a minor offence.

Most of these substances are banned because they mask other substances. All sports people (bar Stephen Ireland no doubt) know this as they are warned about it.

I can understand the odd mistake like a nasal inhaler etc, not realising it gets in your system if nobody has specifically warned you about it, but taking a dietry supplement without checking it ? With all the people listed as having problems from similar things? If you know it & I know it, how the fuck can an international footballer not know it?

He was expecting not to be tested or it not to show up imo.

[Ted Hughes]

I do. It happened to the rugby player who was banned for 4 weeks.

And as somebody who watches Tour de France, many competitors have been pulled into question for having substances found in their body. Though... not too long ago a whole doping scandal was revealed. Aside from that though, last year's winner was accused of doping and he was cleared.

So in the end, Kolo could very well be in the same boat.

You are using professional cycling as an excuse? THE most dirtiest sport out there.

One thing that I can think of that would make this alright is if he took malaria medication that was on the banned substances list without knowing. Kolo has had malaria for few years and to my knowledge it will never fully go away.

Good point but it looks as if he's actually took a 'dietry supplement' which is often as sure a way to get banned as snorting coke.

[blues2win]

[center][size=50][/size][/center]
Quite an interesting article about the FA's record in dealing with drug related offences. It's actually quite unusual to receive a ban for more than 6 months and quite a few players have got away with less for one reason or another. Still given the time for the legal process to be completed Kolo won't be playing again this season. I don't know whether the duration of the provisional ban is taken into account in determining the length of punishment but I presume it would be.


http://www.sportingintelligence.com/201 ... tu-190401/

[Goaters 103]

He's a goner for this season, sure as night follows day. The key is whether the ban is such that it will allow him to remain with City at all.

[carl_feedthegoat]

People go over the top regarding so called "substances" and are so quick to label them as cheats.........You end up getting fucking paranoid on what you can and cannot take - mistakes happen FFS!! and its not a case of being "thick"..some of this shit gets into all sorts of foods...drinks....ect and you wouldn't believe how it was possible !!!

If he has taken something that was not stated on the ingredient info then it is not his bastard fault - Id sue the fucking manufacturer.

On the other hand if it was then...........

[paddyblue]

sheffield united keeper paddy kenny got nine months ban for taking cough medicine so kolo must get the same
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... -test.html

[Ted Hughes]

People go over the top regarding so called "substances" and are so quick to label them as cheats.........You end up getting fucking paranoid on what you can and cannot take - mistakes happen FFS!! and its not a case of being "thick"..some of this shit gets into all sorts of foods...drinks....ect and you wouldn't believe how it was possible !!!

If he has taken something that was not stated on the ingredient info then it is not his bastard fault - Id sue the fucking manufacturer.

On the other hand if it was then...........

If he accidentally ingested said substance in a chicken kebab, then fair enough, but if you're a pro footballer & you decide you're going to open up a packet of WHATEVERTHEFUCKINELLTHISISIN & stick it on your fucking cornflakes you're either a total a knobhead or you're up to something.