Modern professional athletes are exceptionally virtuous when it comes to what they put into their bodies. It’s not acceptable to party hard the night before a big game anymore. The modern demands of the game make it all too easy to detect an athlete with a hangover or comedown, yet that doesn’t stop some athletes from giving in to temptation.
Whether it’s a brief lapse in concentration or chronic abuse, it’s not uncommon to find football players partaking in activities that they should not, and this includes the usage of illegal substances.
Here is a short list of some of the most well-known football players who were banned from the sport after being detected using drugs.
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1. Edgar Davids
Despite being well into his forties at the time, Edgar Davids only officially retired from professional football in 2014, having spent his final season in the sport as the player-manager of English team Barnet. However, he put his career in jeopardy in 2001 when he tested positive for the banned steroid Nandrolone while playing for Juventus. There was talk of a 16-month suspension for the Dutch midfielder, which would have meant he missed the 2002 World Cup. Contrarily, Davids filed an appeal, which led to his four-month ban.
2. Jake Livermore
Most recently, prominent baseball player Jake Livermore was banned for doping. The Hull City midfielder tested positive for cocaine in May 2015 and was suspended from the rest of the Premier League season pending further investigation.
3. Stan Lazaridis
Former Australian international and West Ham United and Birmingham City player Stan Lazaridis were handed a one-year suspension in 2007 after testing positive for the anti-androgen Finasteride, used to treat baldness. Even though Lazaridis said he didn’t realize that the substance was prohibited and that it wasn’t a performance-enhancing drug, he was nonetheless suspended because it was outlawed at the time. Before the ban, Lazaridis had been playing for Perth Glory in his nation. At the age of 34, he decided to call it quits rather than sit out his suspension and try to get back into the game.
4. Diego Maradona
Maradona battled with cocaine addiction, and was banned for 15 months in 1991 when he tested positive for drug. The footballer was also thrown out of the 1994 World Cup for doping when he tested positive for ephedrine.