GENEVA (AP) — FIFA says more than half the players tested at the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico had traces of clenbuterol in their doping tests because they ate contaminated meat.
Tests in Germany after the tournament revealed players from 19 of the 24 teams showed evidence of the drug in 109 of 208 urine samples.
FIFA medical officer Jiri Dvorak calls the results “highly surprising,” but insists it was “not a problem of doping, but a problem of public health.”
Mexican authorities have acknowledged issues with farmers feeding banned steroids to livestock. Mexico’s players all tested clean because they switched to a fish and vegetables diet before the competition, which they won.
FIFA and the World Anti-Doping Agency declined to prosecute cases.
