The Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho has been handed a potential lifeline for Euro 2016 in his native France after Uefa chose not to extend his suspension from football after a positive drugs test.
The France international was provisionally banned for 30 days on 28 April after being notified by European football’s governing body of a doping offence relating to a test taken after March’s Europa League quarter-final against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
However, Uefa has decided not to extend that suspension, which is due to expire on Saturday, as it has launched its own investigation into whether the fat-burning substance the centre-back took should even be on the banned list.
Uefa said in a statement: “The 30-day provisional suspension ends today. The chairman of the control, ethics and disciplinary body decided not to extend it. The player would thus be free to play as from tomorrow. A decision on the case will be made within the next few days.”
As a result, the case against Sakho remains on file pending those investigations but with his suspension lifted he is technically available for selection by the France head coach, Didier Deschamps, with national teams having until Tuesday to submit their final squads for this summer’s tournament.
Sakho submitted his defence to Uefa’s disciplinary committee on Monday and as part of that his legal team questioned whether the substance in the supplement should even be on the prohibited list, given some apparent scientific evidence on its effects.
Rather than set a date for a hearing to consider the defender’s case, Uefa has instead ordered its own disciplinary body to first look into whether the substance should be on the World Anti-Doping Agency list. Liverpool have declined to comment.