Shock as top footballer Diaby fails drug test

Barnsley defender Bambo Diaby [COURTESY]

Barnsley defender Bambo Diaby has failed a drugs test.

The 22-year-old has pleaded his innocence to team mates and insists he will clear his name.

It is understood that Barnsley boss Gerhard Struber called a team meeting last week to tell the players about the situation and said Diaby would not play against Bristol City last Saturday.

Diaby is believed to have been tested after Barnsley’s defeat at Blackburn on November 23 and has been playing since while the process goes on.

Positive drug tests remain rare in football and cases take a long time to be processed, with a four-year ban the maximum punishment.

Former Southport defender Mike Phenix is believed to be the last positive case after testing positive for cocaine in September 2018 and his four-year ban was only announced in May 2019.

The Football Association works in partnership with UK Anti-Doping and drug testers regularly target players after games and at training grounds in out-of-competition tests.

Diaby has pleaded his innocence to team mates and insists he will clear his name [COURTESY]

They operate under the World Anti-Doping Authority code which brought in the four-year ban in 2017 to try to crack down on drug cheats across all sports.

Mirror Sport contacted the FA, who declined to comment but they are only informed and announce positive tests once the process is complete.

Saido Berahino was given an eight-week drugs ban in 2017 for testing positive for recreational drugs.

Crystal Palace’s former Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho sued WADA after a ban for a fat-burning substance was overturned.