AC Monza which plays for the Serie A side, has announced on Friday that Argentine World Cup champion, Alejandro “Papu” Gómez, has been given a two-year suspension for failing an anti-doping test.
In October of last year, Gomez tested positive while playing for Sevilla, just before joining the Argentina team that would later win the World Cup.
“AC Monza announces that today, 20 October 2023, FIFA has notified the Spanish Anti-Doping Commission of the first instance ruling of the Spanish Anti-Doping Commission against the player Alejandro Dario Gomez,” the statement said.
The team reported that the player’s sample included terbutaline, a medication used to treat bronchospasm crises.
In December, as Lionel Messi led Argentina to its third World Cup victory in Qatar, the forward made two appearances for his nation.
Gómez and the team decided to part ways on September 1; he was a sub when Sevilla won the Europa League final the previous year. He returned to Italy three weeks ago and signed with Monza as a free agent. Since then, he has featured in two Serie A games without scoring.
Atalanta’s former captain, Gomez, led the Bergamo team to several successful seasons before parting ways with Gian Piero Gasperini in January 2021 and joining Sevilla.
The second Serie A player this season involved in a doping charge is Gómez. Paul Pogba, a midfielder for Juventus, had a positive testosterone test.