The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) have suffered a terrible blow as the football governing body, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), FIFA, has slammed a ban on their top goalkeeper, Sylvain Gbohouo.
The ban on Gbohouo, though temporary, and according to the according to the Ethiopia Football Federation, came on the eve of the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, being hosted by Cameroon.
According to a statement sighted by ESPN, last Thursday, the EFF confirmed that the Elephants’ No. 1 stopper was found guilty of taking a prohibited substance – Trimetazidine – following a urine test conducted in November.
The 33-year-old reliable stopper, who currently mans the goalpost for the Ethiopian side, Wolkite City, was the West African nation’s first choice goalkeeper in the 2015 editio of AFCON, which they won.
Gbohouo, it would be further recalled, had been named in Patrice Beaumelle’s squad for the upcoming tournament starting in Cameroon on Sunday, January 9, 2022.
Cote d’Ivoire are yet to release a statement on the shocker.
“FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has announced that it has temporarily banned Sylvain Gbohouo in a message sent to the Ethiopian Football Federation,” the statement began.
“Trimetazidine was found [in a urine sample given in November], a substance that has been banned for athletes since 2014.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has passed the following decision on the player: Gbohouo will be temporarily banned worldwide from the day the decision was announced.
“The temporary ban includes national or international competition,” the statement continued. “The temporary ban will be decided by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee.”
Trimetazidine is found in medicines that help treat heart disease and angina among other conditions, and can only be used by athletes if they have received a ‘Special Medical Use Exemption’ from the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Gbohouo has not been granted this exemption, although the Disciplinary Committee are still to meet to decide the exact terms of the player’s suspension.
The veteran ‘keeper made his Ivory Coast debut in 2013 and has made over 60 appearances for the national side, including in all 12 of their AFCON and World Cup qualifying matches since the end of 2019.
Cote d’Ivoire begin their campaign against the Equatoria Guinean on January 12 in Douala.