Deco faces ban after B test fails

Rio de Janeiro, May 4 (IANS): Portuguese star footballer and Fluminense midfielder Deco faces a two-year ban after results of a B sample confirmed the presence of a banned diuretic.

The 35-year-old has contracted his own legal team to argue the positive test was the result of taking contaminated vitamins, Fluminense said in a statement Friday.

He is expected to be suspended indefinitely by the Rio de Janeiro Football Federation next week until a ruling is handed down by a sports justice tribunal.

Fluminense executive director Rodrigo Caetano said the 35-year-old had no chance of playing against Botafogo in Sunday’s Rio Cup final.

“His head is not in the right place to be playing football,” Caetano said. “We need to take care of him as a player and as a human being.”

The former Portugal international playmaker tested positive to the masking agent Furosemide after Fluminense’s 2-0 victory over Boavista in Brazil’s Campeonato Carioca March 30.

In a statement released earlier this week, Deco said he would “stop at nothing” to clear his name of the allegations.

The former Porto, Barcelona and Chelsea star has helped guide Fluminense to two Brazilian Serie A titles since joining the club in 2010.

He is among a select group of players to have won the European Champions League with two different clubs, Porto in 2004 and Barcelona in 2006.