Adrian Mutu's agent Giovanni Becali has said he expects his client
to be banned for three to four months following the preliminary
hearing into his doping case.
The Romanian twice tested positive for traces of the
stimulant Sibutramina after matches against Bari on Jan. 10 and
Lazio on Jan. 20.
"My feeling is there will be a suspension, but I don't expect
it to be more than three or four months," Becali told reporters on
Wednesday.
"He explained what he consumed," Becali said. "He made a
mistake in taking the substance without asking what it was and he
admits his guilt by not asking his doctor if he could take this
substance."
Mutu and his legal team will return to face the Italian
Olympic Committee's antidoping commission on March 19.
"Of course there will be some months suspension," Becali
said. "We aren't yet sure, we shall see in 15 days."
The 31-year-old Mutu, who currently plays for Fiorentina, is
already facing the possibility of paying euro17 million (US$24
million) in compensation to his former club Chelsea after testing
positive for cocaine use in 2004.
The Swiss Federal Court is nearing a ruling on Mutu's appeal
against the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which said he must pay
Chelsea compensation.
CAS ruled in July that FIFA was right to award Chelsea
compensation because Mutu breached his contract in 2004.
Chelsea fired Mutu for failing a drug test, then received no
part of their transfer fee back after he served a seven-month ban
and rebuilt his career in Italy. Mutu joined Juventus as a free
agent and then was sold after one season for euro8 million (US$11
million) to Serie A rival Fiorentina.
Mutu's legal team argued in favor of his good character and
that he took the substance unaware that it was on the banned list.
It also said his positive test at Chelsea had no relevance to the
latest incident.
"This has nothing to do with what occurred at Chelsea,"
Becali said. "Therefore we do not feel the past is a factor. The
two are not related.
"We hope the court understands he acted in good faith,
because he has already lost four to five years of his career," he
said. "If he has made a mistake he will pay, but hopefully not too
dearly."
