The European football governing body has made its position clear.
UEFA has confirmed that the player would be punished after testing positive for a banned drug following Manchester United’s 3-0 Europa League semi-final first leg triumph against Athletic Club in May.
United dominated their Basque opponents at San Mames, thanks to a Casemiro opening and a brace from skipper Bruno Fernandes.
The Red Devils then won the second leg 4-1 (7-1 on aggregate) at Old Trafford, with Mason Mount scoring twice and Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro scoring to send United to the final, also at San Mames, where they were defeated 1-0 by Spurs.
And, just as United and Athletic had left their 2024/25 Europa League campaigns behind them, UEFA suspended a player who played 90 minutes of the semi-final first leg.
UEFA has banned centre-back Yeray Alvarez for ten months after the 30-year-old failed a drug test on May 1. He will be unable to play competitive matches until April 2026, but he can resume training on February 2.
According to European football’s governing body, a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approved laboratory analysed the player’s sample and discovered “the presence of Canrenone,” a substance on WADA’s Prohibited List.
According to The Athletic, the chemical is a diuretic and can be employed as a masking agent. It can also help with weight loss and is used to treat acne.
On Monday (September 8), UEFA issued the following statement: “On 1 May 2025, Athletic Club player Yeray Alvarez undertook an in-competition doping control carried out by UEFA during a UEFA Europa League encounter.
“A WADA-accredited laboratory analysed the player’s sample and discovered the presence of Canrenone, a substance prohibited in and out of competition under the category S5. Diuretics and Masking Agents of the 2025 WADA Prohibited List.”
“On June 2, 2025, the player accepted a voluntary provisional suspension that took effect on that date.”
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