Independiente del Valle´s Angulo to serve four-year drugs ban

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has announced Independiente del Valle forward Jose Angulo will serve a four-year drugs ban.

The 22-year-old tested positive for cocaine during the 2016 Copa Libertadores and was initially given a one-year suspension by South America’s governing body CONMEBOL.

However, that decision was appealed by FIFA to CAS, which ruled on Monday Angulo will instead be banned for four years, the suspension backdated to July 20 2016.

“Pursuant to the challenged decision, Jose Enrique Angulo Caicedo was tested on July 20, 2016, i.e. on the day of the first leg of the final of the 2016 Copa Libertadores, was found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation (cocaine) and sanctioned with a one-year period of ineligibility,” the CAS statement read. 

“Following the appeal of FIFA, CAS heard the parties and scientific experts on October 31, 2017. The CAS panel in charge of the arbitration has determined that the facts submitted by the player did not match with the evidence produced by the scientific experts, has set aside the CONMEBOL decision and replaced it with a new decision.”

Angulo joined Granada from Independiente on a five-year deal in August 2016, only for the LaLiga club to cancel the player’s contract before he made his debut in the wake of his drugs ban.

The Ecuadorian – who scored six goals in the 2016 Copa Libertadores – then returned to Independiente del Valle, where he has started seven league games this season.