Manchester City centre-back Kolo Toure has re-ignited the row over his six-month suspension for testing positive for a banned substance, after it emerged he held the club doctor responsible for his misdemeanor.
The 30-year-old insisted that he was informed by Jamie Butler, the club doctor, that the weight-loss tablets he was using were not in breach of any substance laws, a claims which both Butler and a FA panel refute.
Toure had traces of bendroflumethiazide in his system - a weight loss aid and a prohibited substance – which the Ivorian admitted to taking on February 11, the day before City's 2-1 away defeat to Manchester United, but also claimed he checked if the substance was suitable with Butler on January 30.
The FA panel's report concluded: “Toure’s case was that he took the water tablets to reduce the size and appearance of his belly, flowing from his misplaced perception that he was fat, a symptom of a medical condition.
“Toure’s recollection was that he gave that bag to the club doctor in the hotel restaurant that evening and asked him ‘These supplements I take. Are they okay?’
“Toure recalled Dr Butler looking through the bag, lifting out some of the contents and telling him that ‘Everything in the bag is okay.’ That was not Dr Butler’s recollection.
The FA panel noted that whilst the former Arsenal man was wholly accountable for the incident, he had not taken the water-based weight loss pills for the purpose of performance enhancement, and therefore backdated his six month ban to March 2, meaning he will be available to return to the City side in September.
The report added: “The commission accepted Dr Butler’s evidence that had he been asked about using ‘water tablets’ - he would unequivocally have said such were prohibited and should not be used.”