Official: Athletic Club star hit with 10-month ban | OneFootball

La Liga outfit Athletic Club have early this week been dealt an altogether considerable blow on the personnel front.

This comes amid confirmation that defensive star Yeray Álvarez has been hit with a lengthy ban on the part of UEFA.

Yeray was for his part informed that he failed a routine drugs test earlier this summer.

The test in question came in the aftermath of Athletic’s Europa League semi-final first-leg meeting with Manchester United back in early May.

In a lengthy ensuing statement released across his social media platforms, the 30-year-old pled his innocence, assuring that the ‘banned substance’ found came owing to an alopecia medicine, made use of in the aftermath of his treatment for testicular cancer.

As alluded to above, though, this explanation has not proven sufficient for Yeray to avoid a heavy sanction.

As per a statement released by Athletic Club on Monday:

‘UEFA rules that Yeray committed an error and imposes a ten-month sanction on him. The sanction begins to count from June 2 of last year, since Yeray voluntarily submitted to the provisional suspension, so he will be able to return to competing starting April 2, 2026.’

Conor Laird – GSFN