Back in April, after Liverpool’s 1-1 Europa League tie with Manchester United, Mamadou Sakho failed a doping test that revealed he was taking an unnamed illegal substance via weight-loss pills, and was given a 30 day suspension by UEFA, which resulted in him missing the proceeding seven matches.
The contents of the unnamed weight loss pills Sakho had taken are, at the moment, not on the list of banned substances. However, the substance in question is under investigation as to whether or not it should even be in the banned substance list.
Sakho’s suspension ended Saturday, and the UEFA have decided to not extend his suspension while the investigation continues, giving Sakho the opportunity to still be selected for the national team. This, however, does not mean that he is completely clear from prosecution and he could still be banned from playing.
Therefore, his overall sentence now depends on whether or not the drug is officially declared as an ‘illegal substance’ by UEFA.
If the substance is declared illegal, then Sakho could face a two-year ban and his contract could be canceled. At the same time, there have been similar cases where the ban only lasted 6 to 12 months.
