Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 8y

Bayern Munich's Thiago Alcantara to face no action over missed drugs test

Bayern Munich playmaker Thiago Alcantara missed a drugs test in October 2014, the German FA (DFB) has confirmed, but he will not face any sanctions.

On Wednesday, German national TV stationĀ ARD reported on its website that inspectors from Germany's national anti-doping agency (NADA) had been unable to locate Thiago, who at the time was sidelined with a knee injury.

The inspectors reportedly simultaneously looked for the Spain and Bayern midfielder at three locations: his home in Munich, Bayern's training facilities and the Quiron hospital in Barcelona, where Thiago underwent knee surgery.

However, both the player and his club will not face any punishment for the missed test, the German FA confirmed in a statement on its website on Thursday.

The DFB argued that, because of his Spanish nationality, Thiago "does not belong to the national test pool [NTP] of NADA [Germany's anti-doping agency] and thus also was not subject to the individual duty to report to the ADAMS-system for members of the national test pool."

Only a breach against the individual duty to report, the DFB said, could lead to the NADA imposing a strike for a missed test on a player. According to the statutes, three strikes within 18 months lead to formal proceedings against players.

DFB and NADA also investigated whether Bayern committed a breach of the duty to report, and the statement on the official association website said that the investigations had shown "without a doubt" that a "culpable breach of the duty to report did not exist."

The DFB said Bayern fulfilled their obligations by "reporting the absence from training" and also the "whereabouts of player as far as known to the club."

Bayern, the player's management and the Quiron hospital have not reacted to the reports, and were not willing to talk to ARD.

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