FC Barcelona rubbish De Boer's drug claims

FC Barcelona have denied claims by defender Frank De Boer that the Catalan club were responsible for using substances that resulted in a positive dope test for the Dutch star in March.

Barcelona's chief doctor Josep Borrell said after UEFA reduced De Boer's one year ban stating that they could not rule out the possibility that the player had unknowingly taken the banned steroid nandrolone in a contaminated food supplement.

The 31-year-old Dutch captain said that he never knowingly took the drug, but told UEFA's appeal's committee in Nyon during five hours of evidence on Thursday that he believed that the substance could have been contained in yellow pills given to him by Barca when he registered a low white blood cell count.

"The medication of Barcelona players is analysed beforehand for their contents and we have never found doping products," said Borrell.

"Barcelona has never given doping products. To try to win a match one can help with specific energy-building substances which have nothing to do with doping. Barcelona would never give a medicine would could be a doping product," he added.

The doctor said he did not know what substance the player was referring to.

De Boer was banned for twelve months after testing positive for nandrolone after a UEFA Cup match on March 15th between Barcelona and Celta Vigo.

The ban will now end on August 31st despite the level of nandrolone in his urine sample showing four times the permitted level.

A second test in May confirmed the results of the first test.

UEFA said in a statement: "There was clearly an infraction of the anti-doping rules because the concentration was clearly over the authorised level of 19-Norandrosterone per 2 ng/ml."

"It's more than probable that he absorbed the banned substances by contaminated food supplements."

"The principle of individual responsibility of a professional athlete, the player is responsible for the quality of food or food additives that he takes."

Juventus star and De Boer's Dutch team mate Edgar Davids failed a dope test in April and is appealing against the year-long suspension handed down.