Atalanta confirmed yesterday that defender Jose Luis Palomino has failed a doping test and been suspended, and this will only be the start of things.
La Gazzetta dello Sport details how the 32-year-old Argentinian defender tested positive for a Clostebol metabolite, a synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroid banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He has now been suspended by Atalanta and further tests will be carried out.
Palomino is now facing charges of violating Articles 2.1 and 2.2 of the Anti-Doping Sports Code, which refer to an athlete’s ‘personal responsibility in ensuring that they do not take prohibited substances.’
Initial indications suggest that Clostebol is an ingredient in a healing ointment, Trofodermin. This is the same substance found in the last doping case in Serie A in 2017, which led to the one-year suspension for then Benevento captain Fabio Lucioni. For doping, players risk up to a two-year ban if it was an accident and up to four if it was an intentional move.
Palomino is now taking stock on the situation with his lawyer and Atalanta, and he’s already started searching for products that may contain the banned substance. The parties have three days to request counter-analyses, a procedure they obviously intend to follow.
Should the presence of Clostebol be confirmed, the 32-year-old will be judged after the summer by National Anti-Doping Tribunal, although a plea bargain would avoid this.