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The head coach of the team, Gareth Southgate, says that the team could be supplemented by former Portuguese national team defender Abel Xavier. Less than a month ago, he completed a year-long suspension for doping.
A. Xavier became the first player in the Premier League to be suspended for the use of banned substances. In September 2005, after UEFA Cup matches against Greece's "Xanthi" team, a doping test was positive. Initially, the footballer was suspended for 18 months, but later, after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, this term was reduced to one year.
In January of this year, the "Middlesbrough" team terminated the contract with the player. Xavier has played two matches as a substitute in the Middlesbrough team these days.
Today, G. Southgate said: "He has strengthened, I think it is a position where we need cover. His experience and enthusiasm would be a plus. He is popular among the guys and should have the opportunity to prove it."
G. Southgate noted that he agreed with A. Xavier's claims that the steroids found in his body should be attributed to medication. The footballer claims he used them for a virus.
A. Xavier himself said: "It was very difficult for me because I was far from football. But there are different ways to react, and I always look positively. I always believed that I was innocent and that I would return to playing football. I don't want to look back. I'm only interested in the present, and the present is here."
"I am completely against doping in sport. I am against people using drugs. At every step in life, you have the right to return to society after serving your sentence. I did that and now all I want to do is play football," added the Portuguese player.
