Soccer: De Boer drugs ban cut short

Dutch international Frank de Boer has had his year-long doping ban reduced to 11 weeks by a Uefa appeals panel.

The Barcelona defender had originally received the one-year suspension from all Uefa competitions after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone following a Uefa Cup quarter-final first leg at Celta de Vigo on March 15.

That means De Boer will now be available for the World Cup Qualifier against Ireland on September 2nd in Lansdowne Road.

But the Uefa Appeal Committee reached the conclusion that De Boer had unknowingly taken the banned substance "by means of contaminated food supplements, and subsequently decided to suspend the player only until August 31, 2001."

The decision means De Boer would only miss one week of the new Spanish season.

The appeals panel maintained part of the ban on the principle that "objectively, there was a doping offence," with De Boer registering a level of 19-Norandrosterone - a substance that indicates the use of nandrolone - "clearly exceeding" the allowable limit.

The panel also reminded the player of the individual responsibility of a professional athlete for the control, documentation, inquiry and research of the food or food supplements he takes.

And while De Boer's large legal and scientific team - nicknamed the "A-team" - had questioned the validity of the laboratory tests carried out on the Dutchman's samples, the appeals panel concluded the analyses conducted were in full compliance with the current IOC rules and in accordance with the latest scientific knowledge.

De Boer has admitted failing the tests, but denied knowingly taking any banned substance.

He told reporters the scientists believed the drug may have been in a fish oil supplement given to the player by the Barcelona team doctor.