According to a report by The Athletic, there were three failed drug tests produced by Premier League players throughout the 2019/20 campaign.
There have been several high-profile drug-related controversies in Premier League history, from Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand to disgraced Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu.
These particular cases reported by The Athletic do not fall into the same category, with no action being taken by the regulatory bodies, but were failed drug tests nonetheless.
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As the report notes, three failed tests including banned substances methylphenidate, methylprednisolone and one which remains unknown were recorded. However, no action was taken as the players in question, whose identities are unknown, received therapeutic use exemptions.
There doesn’t appear to be any proof of genuine or intentional wrongdoing here, but it’s interesting to discover that players failing drug tests is relatively frequent, and goes unreported.
We’re sure that UK Anti-Doping would not allow any drug misuse go unpunished in football, so even if banned substances are being used, we can be confident that it’s with the best intentions.