Athletic Club defender hit with doping ban despite accidental UEFA ruling | OneFootball

Athletic Club have had a disappointing September thus far, and Los Leones have now had further negative news. UEFA have ruled on the case of defender Yeray Alvarez, and although he has been cleared of intentional doping, he will still receive a ban.

Alvarez, 30, has been banned since the second of June after a doping test came back positive in the aftermath of their Europa League semi-final against Manchester United. The veteran defender has been a key part of Ernesto Valverde’s defence in recent years, and played 28 matches last season, scoring twice.

Yeray Alvarez hit with 10-month ban by UEFA

His defence centred around the fact that he had accidentally taken medication aimed at combating hair loss that his partner was using. The UEFA ruling, as announced by Athletic, acknowledges that the ingestion of the banned substance had no intentionality in terms of doping for performance, but despite it’s accidental nature, will still receive a 10-month ban. The Basque defender will be permitted to begin training again on the second of February, and will be available for Valverde again on the second of April.

Image via Athletic Club

Athletic Club’s defensive issues

The ban leaves Valverde, as expected, with just two senior central defenders in Aitor Paredes and Dani Vivian. The fourth option that Los Leones were expected to rely on was Unai Egiluz, but he has been ruled out with a cruciate ligament injury, which means he is unlikely to be back before Alvarez. Youngsters Aimar Dunabeitia (22) and Jon de Luis (22) are the options most likely to make the jump from Bilbao Athletic.

More concerning news

The ban for Yeray comes in the aftermath of a rough week in prospect. FIFA are expected to rule on Athletic’s appeal over the signing of Aymeric Laporte – and against the Baque giants – as they try to prove they had completed their formalities before the transfer deadline. There is now also a nervous wait to see the extent of Nico Williams’ injury, after he limped off in Spain’s 6-0 win over Turkiye on Sunday night.