Sunderland fires top prospect

Sunderland fires top prospect

Published Feb. 19, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

A Sunderland player who tested positive for cocaine and cannabis has been fired by the English Premier League club.

Academy defender Lewis Gibbons failed the drugs test after a youth team match in September, although the two-year ban from football has only now been announced by the English Football Association.

A week after that match against Aston Villa, Gibbons captained Sunderland Under-18s against Manchester United.

Sunderland says "a club investigation also took place at the time and his scholarship with Sunderland was cancelled with immediate effect."

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Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne added that the club supports a "rigorous testing program" and educates its young players about the "enormous dangers of drug use."

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