Papu Gomez has been sanctioned by the anti-doping authorities, who have given him a two-year ban. The former Sevilla player, who has moved to Monza this year, has tested positive for a banned substance after a test carried out in November 2022.
The player and the Andalusian club were aware of this news months ago, when UEFA notified him. But it was this week that he received the sanction, something that could end his sporting career.
A cough syrup?
According to the player’s version of events, the former Sevilla player had felt ill which caused him to take a cough syrup for children without prior consultation with the club’s doctors. It would be, in principle, a drug of the B2-adrenergic family, similar to salbutamol. Therefore, it could’ve been a question of negligence on the part of the footballer.
Sevilla, aware of the case, ended up terminating his contract. Once free, the player from Buenos Aires signed for Monza until June 2024.
From that day until today, the player lifted the World Cup with Argentina and the UEFA Europa League with Sevilla in Budapest. The sanction, therefore, puts his professional future in check.
To Italy and back
The Argentine landed in Italy for the first time in 2010, when he joined Catania coached by Diego Pablo Simeone. After a stint in Ukraine, he returned to Serie A to star for Gasperini’s Atalanta… where he played his best football, but his latest spell in Italy has not ended well.