Toulouse, newly promoted to Ligue 1, resumed collective training on June 23. But one player was missing, midfielder Branco Van den Boomen. The Haut-Garonne coach, Philippe Montanier, had then evoked a reason ” private. On learns, according to Equipe.fr, that the Dutch player was actually serving a one-month suspension ordered by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD). His eviction would run until July 10.
Winner of the UNFP trophy for the best player in Ligue 2, the Dutchman was punished for “violation of anti-doping rules”. He had consumed prohibited substances (Prednisone, Prednisolone, Terbutaline, drugs used to fight inflammation of the respiratory tract) and tested positive at the end of the summer of 2020, i.e. at the start of his contract with Toulouse FC. The AFLD was lenient with the sanction, simply suspending the player during the summer resumption. Van den Boomen pleaded lawful consumption in a context that was not secret to anyone.
For his lawyer Me Christophe Bertrand “nothing has been hidden”, the error is simply due to an administrative oversight: “We are not talking about doping concerning Branco, it is a non-subject. The reality is that there was a justified medical prescription, made by the club on his arrival, but also an administrative error. The TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) request was not made on time. That’s all. Then there was a positive control of products, declared to everyone. You have to remember that we were in the Covid period. The administrative side did not necessarily follow. This is what happened. he justifies himself in the newspaper L’Équipe.
For the first day of Ligue 1, Toulouse will host Nice on August 7 and Branco Van den Boomen will be allowed to play.
