Six Mexico players cop drug bans

Six players have been provisionally suspended from Mexico’s national football squad after they tested positive for a banned substance.

Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, defensive pair Francisco Rodriguez and Edgar Duenas and midfield duo Antonio Naelson and Christian Bermudez all returned positive tests for clenbuterol while Ricardo Osorio – also suspended – had already been ruled out of the tournament due to a medical condition, prior to the finding.

Mexico are participating in the CONCACAF Gold Cup this month, with all five players banned from taking any part in the country’s clash with Cuba on Thursday.

Mexico will now play the rest of the competition with 17 players left in the squad and the players could be hit with bans of up to two years if found guilty.

“What the federation must do is analyse the case and determine what happened,” Mexico Football Federation general secretary Decio de Maria said.

“I repeat, there is no responsibility or negligence about this matter, I hope this is an accident and we have to demonstrate it to solve this.”