Former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri to be banned for six months following LA ‘drip’ treatment

The Frenchman avoided a possible four year ban, and the punishment is a quarter the two years that Uefa had initially imposed on the former Arsenal and Manchester City player

Samir Nasri is set to be banned for a year by Uefa (Getty)

​Samir Nasri will be banned for six months after breaking Uefa's Anti-Doping Regulations during the 2016-2017 season for visiting a Los Angeles intravenous therapy clinic.

The Frenchman avoided a possible four year ban, and the punishment is half the two years that Uefa had initially imposed on the former Arsenal and Manchester City player.

European football's governing body, which opened disciplinary proceedings against the Frenchman on March 6 last year, said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon: “The player Samir Nasri has been found guilty for using a prohibited method in accordance with sub-section M2, par. 2 of the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) prohibited list.

“In this context, the CEDB (control, ethics and disciplinary body) has decided to suspend Samir Nasri for six months for violation of the World Anti-doping Code and the UEFA anti-doping regulations.

“This decision was taken on 22 February and is open to appeal.”

Nasri was the subject of a Spanish Anti-Doping Agency (Aepsad) investigation after a tweet posted by the Los Angeles clinic 'Drip Doctors' revealed that the then Sevilla player, on loan from Manchester City, had received its "concierge Immunity IV Drip" (saline fluid) in December 2016.

The news broke in bizarre fashion when the ‘Drip Doctors’ account tweeted about Nasri’s attendance, which led to a series of explicit and swiftly-deleted tweets from Nasri’s account. Nasri later explained that he was hacked.


 The Frenchman formerly played for Manchester City (Getty)

The picture caught the attention of Richard Ings, a former Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency [Asasa] officer, who sent it on to Wada and the AEPSAD, adding the comment “which should be of great interest”.

World Anti-Doping Agency rules stipulate that there is a 50 millilitre limit every six hours for active athletes unless there is a specific medical reason, and Nasri would have needed a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to be exempt from the regulation.

Uefa announced last month that it would uphold the decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which dismissed an appeal by Nasri that the treatment be regarded as a TUE, leading to the possibility of a ban.

Nasri was said to be close to joining Spanish side Las Palmas after his contract at Turkish club Antalyaspor was terminated by mutual agreement last month, but the ban will mean the 30-year-old will be unable to join any European club.

Nasri made 86 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, before joining Manchester City in 2011 for a fee thought to be in the region of £25 million.

He spent six years on the books at the Etihad, winning two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup, before joining Sevilla on loan in his final season, during which he used the banned treatment method.