English FA investigating unnamed player over cocaine claims

The English Football Association (FA) has encouraged anyone with information to come forward following a report an unnamed England player had taken cocaine at a nightclub.

On Friday, The Sun claimed that a Premier League player had taken the drug during a pre-Christmas get-together following an away game.

According to the report, which quoted a club insider, the player, who was believed to be drunk by the team’s “irate” manager, was later put into a taxi and taken home.

Any player found to have breached the FA’s social drugs policy regulations would be subject to sanctions, which begin from zero-to-three months suspension for a first offence but increases to potentially a lifetime ban for multiple breaches.

A statement from the governing body read: “The FA operates one of the most comprehensive national anti-doping programmes in the world. In partnership with UK Anti-Doping, we have a targeted research and intelligence-led programme in place to identify potential doping risks in the game.

“Although incidents of doping in English football are very rare, it remains a priority for the FA to find and sanction anyone found taking performance-enhancing or recreational drugs.