Tunisia’s disastrous World Cup campaign was rocked after a number of players – including some who ply their trade in the UK – showed traces of a banned drug in doping tests.
Daily Mail Sport understands that no fewer than eight players from the North African nation, which sacked its head coach after just one game, returned atypical findings for clenbuterol, a drug which relaxes airways in the lungs and is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s forbidden list.
However, officials subsequently found that the presence of the drug was more likely than not down to contamination – thanks to meat eaten by the squad in their Mexico base – rather than performance-enhancing reasons.
The clubs of the players have been informed about the situation however, it is highly unlikely that they will face further action.
Tunisia endured a miserable tournament, losing 5-1 to Sweden, 4-0 to Japan on June 21 and 3-1 to Netherlands on June 26.
No fewer than eight players from Tunisia showed traces of a banned drug in doping tests. It is not clear which players are involved in the tests
Following the Sweden defeat, they became the first country in World Cup history to sack a coach after one game when former Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City boss Sabri Lamouchi was shown the door.
The test results, which landed throughout the tournament, may well have had their own impact. Clenbuterol has been used by bodybuilders to drop fat while retaining lean muscle. In certain countries, including Mexico, it is used as a growth promoter for farm animals and particularly to bulk up cattle.
Indeed, there is a history with athletes testing positive in Mexico after unknowingly eating contaminated meat. At the 2011 Gold Cup, five Mexico players tested positive and were immediately withdrawn. Following an investigation the Mexican Football Federation and WADA accepted that contamination was to blame and each player was cleared of any wrongdoing.
In the 2011 Under 17s World Cup, held in Mexico, no fewer than 109 players returned positive tests for clenbuterol. Both FIFA and WADA decided not to prosecute any cases because the weight of evidence pointed to contamination.
Mexico, who won the tournament, were pronounced as testing clean because they switched to a diet of fish and vegetables before it started.
In 2022, WADA published a technical letter which said that the detection of clenbuterol at less than 5 ng/mL in urine is reported as an Atypical Finding (ATF) rather than immediately deemed the far more serious Adverse Analytical Finding. In such case an investigation is carried out to determine whether the presence is down to contaminated meat. If that is the case then no further action is taken.
England will fly to Mexico today for their last-16 clash with the co-hosts in Mexico City. However, the FA brings its own chefs to tournaments all foods are carefully checked to ensure they comply with the relevant rules.
FIFA declined to comment. The Tunisian FA did not respond to requests for comment.
