Feb
1
Mutu foiled by mom’s pills?
Filed Under Serie A | Leave a Comment
Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu has tested positive for an anti-obesity drug called subutramine, an illegal substance that could see him banned for up to four years from football. He failed a second drug test following the Serie A match vs. Bari on January 10th, and has been suspended by the Italian Olympic Committee. What’s interesting is that it all might be due to a rather unfortunate accident—he might have taken his mother’s slimming pills by mistake.
That is at least what she claims when interviewed by the Romanian media, but it might also just be a desperate attempt to clear her son’s name. Mutu was famously fired by Chelsea when he failed another drug test in 2004, which saw him suspended for 7 months from football. He came back, though, and established himself as a top striker again at Fiorentina, but if proven guilty, this latest set-back might be the end of his career. At 31 years of age, missing another 4 years of football would be too much.
As with all such cases, I believe intent and any actual affect on his performance should be considered before a punishment is handed out, but in the past football associations have shown little mercy when it comes to drugs. The fact that this is his second offense only makes matters worse. Fiorentina have stated that they are very surprised by this development and that they will stick by their player, but this is a massive blow to them, Romania, and of course Mutu himself.