Bosnich banned for nine months for cocaine abuse

Former Australian international goalkeeper Mark Bosnich was banned for nine months by the Football Association after a disciplinary hearing into his testing positive for cocaine.

The hearing did not agree with the 31-year-old former Manchester United 'keeper's claim that his drink had been spiked by a known cocaine user on a night out at a fashionable London night club.

The FA commission ruled after a two-day hearing he was guilty of charges of improper conduct and breaching their doping control regulations.

However he was not slapped with the maximum penalty of a two-year suspension, with his nine-month ban backdated to start from December 23, 2002, when a temporary worldwide restriction was first enforced.

Bosnich, who has had his contract terminated by Chelsea, was not fined, but he must pay the costs of the hearing which could amount to 10,000 pounds (15,000 US dollars).