Never trust your wife! Wenger defends 'mistake' by Toure
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Kolo Toure drugs shock: Suspended City defender in fight to avoid two-year ban
Decisive action: City moved to discipline Toure - who has featured 22 times for City in the Barclays Premier League this season
Manchester City defender Kolo Toure could be banned for as long as two years and has been suspended from all levels of football after failing a drugs test, it emerged on Thursday night.
The Ivory Coast centre half was dropped from the City team that beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Wednesday night after an ‘A’ sample given at a previous game came back positive.
It was unclear on Thursday night whether Toure’s sample contained traces of a recreational drug or one from the performance-enhancing list.
Sources suggested that the former City captain may have taken an illegal dietary aid without knowing it contained the substance.
Even so, this will not be looked upon kindly by the FA.
Every athlete in the country is given a list of banned substances by UK Sport and it seems Toure did not consult this or indeed check his supplements with City’s club doctor.
What is known is that Toure will not be able to play again until his ‘B sample’ is tested and the FA disciplinary process is complete.
If the substance were to be recreational, the former Arsenal player could also face criminal proceedings.
This is thought to be unlikely, given that Toure is a devout Muslim and does not even drink alcohol.
The 29-year-old — signed by Mark Hughes for City two summers ago — will certainly miss this weekend’s game against Wigan and it would appear he is likely to miss a substantial part, if not all, of the club’s run-in.
Typical penalties for these offences run to between four and nine months.
A City statement released on Thursday night said: ‘Manchester City can confirm that the FA has informed Kolo Toure that an ‘A sample’ provided by him tested positive for a specified substance.
‘As a result of this, he has been suspended from participating in all first-team matches pending the outcome of the legal process.’
The World Anti-Doping Agency defines a specified substance as one that is ‘more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation’.
This would appear to rule out drugs such as cocaine or marijuana.
However, the WADA punishment for such a positive test ranges from a warning to a two-year ban.
A source close to the drug-testing procedure told Sportsmail last night: ‘At the least, Toure has been very stupid. At worst, it could be more sinister.’
Toure joined City for £14million in 2009, ending a seven-year association with Arsenal.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had signed him from Ivorian side Mimosas and he went on to captain Arsenal on a number of occasions before heading to Eastlands, where he served as club captain under Hughes until he was succeeded by Carlos Tevez for this season.
Known and respected throughout the Barclays Premier League as a true and honest professional, Toure should nevertheless be aware that punishments for doping offences do not often make room for sentiment or excuses.
Problems: Toure's ban will force Roberto Mancini to reshuffle his defence
Former Sheffield United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny was banned for nine months after taking a stimulant contained in a cold cure while Hamilton’s Simon Mensing was suspended for four weeks.
Two South African rugby players were found guilty of taking the banned substance methylhexaneamine in the UK, even though it had been cleared by SA authorities.
Toure’s expected ban will leave City manager Roberto Mancini with a headache. Toure has formed an impressive central partnership with Belgian Vincent Kompany.
How the process works
Who has to take a drugs test?
Players are randomly selected and give their sample at half time. This is split into an ‘A sample’ and ‘B sample’. If the A sample tests positive for a banned substance, the player is informed before the B sample is examined. The player can be present for the B sample test, which happens no more than five days after the A sample test.
What happens if the B sample comes back negative?
No further action is taken.
What are the banned substances?
There are 10 main groups: anabolic steroids, peptide hormones, growth factors, beta-2 agonists, hormone antagonists and modulators, masking agents, stimulants (such as cocaine), narcotics (such as heroin), cannabinoids (as found in cannabis) and glucocorticosteroids.
Are some substances treated as more serious than others?
Yes. A positive test for a ‘performance-enhancing’ drug results in an immediate FA disrepute charge. If the drug is only on the list of ‘prohibited substances’, the player will be interviewed by the FA to see if a disrepute charge is appropriate. Toure’s alleged offence seems to be in the latter category.
And if he is found guilty?
Punishments for a positive test range from a warning to a two-year ban.
How could a player escape punishment?
He would have to prove ‘no fault or negligence’ in allowing the substance to enter his body.
Could the FA take action against Manchester City?
Only if more than two players from their team are found to have committed a doping offence.
ALEX KAY
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Toure finds a friend in Wenger after Manchester City defender fails drugs test
Headache: Kolo Toure was dropped for the FA Cup win against Aston Villa
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has defended Kolo Toure after the Manchester City defender failed a drugs test.
The Ivory Coast centre half was dropped from the City team that beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Wednesday night after an 'A' sample given at a previous game came back positive.
Sources suggested that the former City captain may have taken an illegal dietary aid without knowing it contained the substance and Wenger has supported the claims.
Toure, who is seeking legal advice, stayed away from City training on Friday morning but Wenger has spoken to his former player since the news broke.
'He wants to control his weight a little bit because that's where he has some problems and he took the product of his wife,' said Wenger.
Never trust your wife! That is how he was caught.'
Toure could face a lengthy ban and is currently suspended from playing for City. The 29-year-old moved to Eastlands in 2009 having spent seven seasons at Arsenal.
Wenger spoke of his character in glowing terms and insisted Toure's error was failing to check the legality of the product he took.
Nice one son: Wenger and Toure share a celebration during their days together at Arsenal
'I think it is a mistake. He was not cautious enough. I don't think there's a desire there to do something wrong and hide it,' said Wenger.
'It is a complete surprise because I had Kolo Toure here for years, I brought him here.
He is a boy who has a clean life. He's very honest living, always at home, a family man, and I don't suspect him at all to have taken drugs to enhance his performances.
'I just think it is a mistake by forgetting to ask, "Can I take that?".'
In line with Football Association regulations, Toure has been suspended following confirmation that a 'specified substance' was found in an A sample, believed to have been given after last month's derby at Old Trafford.
Toure has the right to request his B sample - given at the same time - also be tested. The Ivorian would then get the opportunity to go before a personal hearing.
Business as usual: City pair Micah Richards (left) and Mario Balotelli share a joke at training on Friday
Although 'specified substances' do tend to be down the scale of drugs offences because the World Anti-Doping Agency accepts there are instances where credible explanations can be offered, they are still subject to a maximum two-year suspension.
Hamilton's Simon Mensing served a four-week ban earlier this season after testing positive for the stimulant Methylhexaneamine (MHA), which was present in a dietary supplement.
However, former Sheffield United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny served a nine-month suspension after testing positive for the stimulant ephedrine.
Oh brother: Yaya Toure didn't look so happy
In Kenny's case, it took two months for the case to be heard and the player's defence of the drug being present in cough medicine taken to combat an infection was countered by the notion that a professional sportsman 'has a strict responsibility to ensure prohibited substances do not enter his or her body' - the words of Christopher Quinlan, chairman of the Regulatory Commission that heard the Kenny case.
Should Toure's case follow a similar timescale, that would rule the 29-year-old out until the beginning of May, even before any ban.
City will presumably try to push for a hearing before that, although given the legal complexities, it might not be easy.
'The FA can confirm that a player has been provisionally suspended from playing pending investigation, having tested positive for the use of a prohibited substance,' said the FA in a statement.
It is believed City knew of the failed test on Wednesday, explaining Toure's absence from the squad for that night's FA Cup fifth-round victory over Aston Villa.
The City statement which confirmed the news read: 'He has been suspended from participating in all first team and non first-team matches pending the outcome of the legal process.
'There will be no further comment from the football club at this stage.'