FA tight-lipped on Mutu reports

The Football Association this morning refused to confirm reports that Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu has been charged for failing a drugs test.

Mutu, who failed a random test last month, has not been suspended by his club and, so far, the governing body have yet to act.

The 25-year-old Romania captain originally told the Professional Footballers Association he had taken cocaine but later claimed he had taken a substance which would help improve his sexual performance.

Mutu has also agreed to undergo counselling sessions as part of a rehabilitation programme in a bid to escape a long-term ban from the game.

No date has yet been set for the hearing but Mutu could get a ban anywhere between six months and two years.

The FA could also choose to impose a lengthy rehabilitation instead of an outright ban but that is unlikely given the sport’s crackdown on the use of drugs.

Mutu, signed for £15.8m (€22.7m) from Parma, has not started a Premiership match all season.

He failed a random drug test carried out by UK Sport last month and earlier this week Sports Minister Richard Caborn called for the player to be hit with a two-year ban in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s disciplinary code.

The Romanian has a reputation for living a playboy lifestyle.

He fell out with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho over his decision to play for his country against the Czech Republic in their recent World Cup qualifier.

Mourinho told the Romanians that Mutu was unfit but the player defied his club and played the full 90 minutes.

He was fined two weeks’ wages on his return to England and the player claimed he almost hit Mourinho during a stormy meeting – an allegation denied by the Chelsea boss.