The Middlesbrough defender Abel Xavier was yesterday banned from all football for 18 months after a positive drugs test.

Xavier was found to have the anabolic steroid dianabol in his system, becoming the first current Premiership player to test positive for a performance-enhancing substance. He will not play for Boro again and at the age of 32 Xavier's career may be over. He has three days to appeal.

Formerly of Liverpool and Everton, Xavier failed a post-match drug test after Boro's Uefa Cup tie in Greece against Xanthi on September 29th. Once the positive test came to light Xavier was immediately suspended from playing for Middlesbrough though the Portuguese protested his innocence, saying that he had been taking a supplement imported from the United States to combat a virus.

"(I am) convinced that there is a reasonable and entirely harmless explanation for such a positive finding, should it be confirmed by the analysis of the 'B' sample," Xavier said at the time.

At that stage Xavier had only had one positive test reading, the A sample. Fifa and Uefa require a second analysis and this has confirmed Xavier's initial positive test. "The player was found guilty of being in breach of Uefa anti-doping regulations," a Uefa spokesman said. "As a result, the Uefa control and disciplinary body decided to impose an 18-month ban on Abel Xavier. This decision may be appealed against within three days of receipt of the written reasoning."

Should Xavier choose to appeal and should that appeal fail, Xavier will have his contract with Middlesbrough terminated. Only on Tuesday the Boro chairman Steve Gibson reiterated: "We have a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs."

Xavier joined Middlesbrough at the end of August on transfer deadline day after a spell in Serie A with Roma. He has played previously for Bari, the German club Hannover 96 and had a loan spell with Galatasaray in Turkey. Born in Mozambique, Xavier has played 20 times for Portugal.

He has insisted he never knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs. At the time he said: "Given the fact that the anti-doping regulations establish a purely objective responsibility, I currently have - and this is not easy - to furnish scientific and factual proof to establish that if a prohibited substance is found in my body, this is by no means because I would have had the intention to 'dope' myself. I have never had this intention."

Boro's head of communication Dave Allan said: "We are aware of the decision and the clear implications it has for Abel and for his contract with Middlesbrough Football Club . . . we will not be making any further comment until Friday."

The Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren insisted there is no place for drugs in professional football. "I've just heard it myself," said McClaren as he arrived at Alkmaarder Hout stadium in Holland ahead of the Uefa Cup tie against AZ Alkmaar tonight. "We are going to take a couple of days to digest everything before we put out a full statement and decide what to do. Asked if drugs had any place in the sport, McClaren replied: "There isn't, for whatever reason. We will always condemn that. In this situation, it's just unfortunate that our club, Middlesbrough, is involved."

Guardian Service