Manchester United charged for breach of Uefa anti-doping regulations after Europa League as Phil Jones is banned
Daley Blind also received an individual fine for his reluctance to take a test
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United have been charged with breaching anti-doping regulations following the Europa League final victory over Ajax, with Phil Jones receiving a ban and Daley Blind a fine.
The club have been fined £8,950 for the breach in May with Blind needing to pay £4,475 on top of that, while Jones has been handed a two-game ban.
Jones was understood to have been verbally abusive towards a doping control officer after he was required to attend drug testing after the final in Stockholm.
The Englishman, who was also fined £4,475 will miss the Uefa Super Cup against Real Madrid next week as a result, as well as United’s first Champions League group-stage match in September.
Eric Bailly is already suspended for those games after his red card in the semi-final win last season, meaning new signing Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling are the only two available first-team centre backs.
Blind’s fine comes after he was reluctant to respond to the request for a drug sample because he wanted to celebrate with his teammates.
There is no suggestion that either player was guilty of doping, however.
United have not commented on the matter and no decisions have yet been taken on whether appeals will be made against any of the decisions.
It is understood Jones was upset to have missed out on a squad photograph taken after the match paying tribute to victims of the Manchester terrorist attack earlier in the week. He expressed this disappointment to officials at the time.
Blind did feature on that photograph and did join in some of the celebrations, accompanied by a chaperone. This is permitted in other competitions but was not the case in this instance. It is understood he did not realise he had done anything wrong until reaching doping control.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments