Atletico Madrid defender Juan Velasco should not be held responsible for failing a drug test, the Primera Liga has declared.
The 27-year-old former Celta Vigo player tested positive for the anti-inflammatory steroid triamcinolone after a league match between Atletico and Osasuna on December 5 last year.
“In the last two months of 2004 the player was given a series of injections of Trigon Depot (which contains triamcinolone) as part of the treatment for a groin injury,” the club said in a statement.
“Once the treatment was completed a report was sent to the Spanish Football Federation and the Anti-Doping Commission to notify them of the matter. The report was sent before we received any notification of a positive test.
“The player bears no responsibility over this matter given that the drug was administered as part of the treatment given by the club’s medical staff.”
An offence involving banned substances usually entails a suspension of between three months and two years.
