French Soccer Player Samir Nasri Suspended 18 Months for IV Vitamin Infusion from Drip Doctors

Samir Nasri, a French professional soccer player who is currently an unsigned free agent, has been suspended for an anti-doping rules violation arising from a visit to a Los Angeles medical clinic called Drip Doctors. Nasri learned that athletes can be suspended for receiving certain prohibited medical procedures, such as intravenous infusions, and not just from the use of banned anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

“We provided @SamNasri19 a concierge Immunity IV Drip to keep him hydrated & in top health during his busy soccer season with @SevillaFC”, according to a message posted to Twitter by the @DripDoctors account on December 26, 2016.

Nasri was originally suspended for six months by the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) in February 2018 after Drip Doctors shared the details of the treatment Nasri received from the clinic in messages and photographs posted on Instagram and Twitter on December 26, 2016. 

Nasri received a 500-milliliter intravenous infusion of a vitamin and micronutrient solution. There were no prohibited PEDs in the solution but that did not matter. In the absence of a therapeutic use exemption (TUE), IV infusions of any type are banned when they exceed 50-milliliters within a six-hour period according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Nasri asked UEFA to allow a backdate TUE but UEFA rejected his request. Nasri appealed but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld UEFA’s decision.

The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body  amended the suspension by increasing it from 6-months to 18-months on August 1, 2018.

The incident also involved a string of bizarre Twitter messages from Nasri. Nasri, or someone using Nasri’s Twitter account, accused Drip Doctors’ co-founder Jamila Sozahdah of providing a “full sexual service” in his hotel room following the IV infusion. Nasri subsequently deleted the tweets and claimed that his Twitter account had been hacked. Nasri and Drip Doctors both refused to provide any further details or comment on the explicit messages.

Source:

Pisani, S. (August 14, 2018). Nasri's ban increased to 18 months after appeal. Retrieved from goal.com/en/news/nasris-ban-increased-to-18-months-after-appeal/1r5lkz2kt3a4410bpionpk1asx