CSKA trio suspended for doping Wednesday, 01 February 2012 02:38

SOFIA: Three CSKA Sofia players have been suspended for three months after testing positive for a banned stimulant last year, the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) said in a statement yesterday.

Midfielder Todor Yanchev, the 31-times Bulgarian champions’ captain, and defenders Kostadin Stoyanov and Rumen Trifonov tested positive for methylhexanamine after CSKA’s 1-0 league win over city rivals Levski on October 28.

Last month, team doctor Milcho Kraynov was sacked by CSKA after revealing he gave the stimulant to the players to help them lose weight, without consulting the club.

The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) banned Kraynov from working as the team doctor for an unspecified period.

The 35-year-old Yanchev, capped 32 times by Bulgaria, has won three league titles with CSKA in the last eight years while Stoyanov, 25, has been a regular member of the national squad in the last year.

The BOC’s disciplinary commission said the start of the bans had been backdated to Dec. 23 when the players were provisionally suspended.

The ruling means the trio will miss only four league games and will be available for CSKA’s match against Lokomotiv Plovdiv on March 24.  CSKA said they would not appeal.

“We can see far more severe bans in other sports, so we should accept this one,” CSKA coach Dimitar Penev told local media.

The league resumes on Feb. 25 after a three-month winter break with surprise package Ludogorets top with 36 points, ahead of CSKA on goal difference.

Motta closes in on PSG move  

PARIS: Brazil-born Italy midfielder Thiago Motta was expected to complete a ¤10m ($13.1m) move from Inter Milan to Paris Saint-Germain yesterday, a source from the French club said.

The source said that the three parties involved had agreed on a deal that would see the 29-year-old join PSG on a two-and-a-half-year contract with an option for a further year.

Motta’s agent was in Paris to see the deal and the player, who has six international caps, was expected to arrive in the city during the afternoon. PSG reportedly agreed personal terms with the central midfielder several days ago but the move was held up by Inter coach Claudio Ranieri’s reluctance to release him.

However, the path was cleared for Motta to join the Ligue 1 leaders when Inter reached an agreement to sign Colombian international midfielder Fredy Guarin on loan from Portuguese champions Porto.

Motta began his professional career with Barcelona, having moved to Spain while still a 17-year-old. He went on to play for Atletico Madrid and Genoa before joining Inter in 2009.

Motta qualified to play for Italy through Italian grandparents and made his Italy debut in February 2011, despite having already represented Brazil at the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup competition.Agencies

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