Spanish footballer gets 10-month ban for taking banned substance in hair-loss treatment

Athletic Bilbao footballer Yeray Alvarez has been handed a 10-month ban by UEFA for inadvertently using a banned substance while taking a medicine to prevent hair loss caused by his cancer treatment. Alvarez was punished for failing a banned substance test for the medicine he took during the treatment.

The Spanish centerback failed a drug test after the Spanish club's defeat to Manchester United in the Europa League semifinals in May. He accepted a voluntary provisional suspension in June, UEFA announced.

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After an investigation by inspectors from UEFA's ethics and disciplinary department, the European football governing body has suspended Alvarez for a period of 10 months. The ban, which will end on April 2nd, 2026, applies to all competitions.

The 30-year-old defender was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2016 and was forced to step away from football in 2017 for a long period for treatment. Following his return to action, Alvarez took medication to fight alopecia.

In his defence, the Spanish footballer argued that the cause of his positive result on the doping test was because he  "involuntarily took a medicine to prevent hair loss that contained a banned substance."

According to UEFA, the substance that the Spanish footballer unintentionally used was Canrenone. The governing body accepted his explanation, and the player did not intend to take a banned substance, but he was found guilty of committing a "non-intentional anti-doping rule violation".

The La Liga club, which will be without Alvarez's services for the next 10 months, will feature in the Champions League this season after finishing fourth in the 2024-25 campaign.

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Athletic have made a perfect start to the 2025-26 La Liga season, winning all three league matches. The Basque club is level on points with table toppers Real Madrid, but sits second in the points table on goal difference.

Since coming through the academy, Alvarez has made 257 appearances for Bilbao.