For those Liverpool fans questioning whether we could be thrown out of the Europa League for Mamadou Sakho’s alleged doping violation, there’s no need to worry.
There would only be a risk if two or more Reds failed drug tests, and after the Manchester United tie on March 10 – only the Frenchman didn’t pass.
James Pearce of the Echo confirms as much:
No danger of sanctions against #LFC as a club. Has to be 2 or more players from same team for that to be an issue.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) April 23, 2016
RMCSport broke the Sakho story first, claiming he’s been taking over the counter fat burners, unaware of their place on the banned list.
UEFA haven’t officially banned the 26-year-old yet, but the club and player have agreed to a mutual suspension pending further investigation.
Liverpool got through against United and then Borussia Dortmund over two legs, largely thanks to Sakho’s heroic performances, but he’ll now be unavailable for the semi-final clash with Villarreal.
The Reds travel to Spain after today’s Premier League clash with Newcastle, and Jurgen Klopp now has to decide who he’ll start alongside Dejan Lovren at centre-back.