ROME (AP) — Fiorentina forward Adrian Mutu has been suspended for nine months by the Italian Olympic Committee’s antidoping tribunal.
The 31-year-old Romanian twice tested positive for sibutramine following games against Bari and Lazio in January, and will be unable to play until Oct. 29.
“I’m not happy,” Mutu said Monday. “A suspension this long for a laxative seems excessive.”
In 2004, Mutu received a seven-month ban for testing positive for cocaine while with Chelsea.
His lawyer said they an appeal was possible to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
