Rio De Janeiro, May 1: Midfielder Deco has tested positive for a banned diuretic in Brazil and says he will appeal the result, saying it likely stemmed from contaminated vitamins.
Football officials in Rio de Janeiro say the former Chelsea and Portugal playmaker tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic which can help hide performance enhancing substances. The test came after Fluminense's 2-0 win over Boavista on March 30.
The player's lawyers told local media Tuesday that the positive result likely happened because of contaminated vitamins that the player had been taking recently.
Fluminense says it won't comment until the results of Deco's “B” sample are released on Friday.
The 35-year-old player didn't travel with the club to Ecuador for the match against Emelec in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores on Thursday.
