Athletic Bilbao’s Álvarez gets 10-month ban after taking banned substance in hair-loss treatment

By Canadian Press on September 8, 2025.

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Athletic Bilbao player Yeray Álvarez was handed a 10-month ban by UEFA on Monday for failing a banned substance test due to taking a medicine to prevent hair loss caused by cancer treatment.

The Spanish defender failed a drug test after Athletic lost to Manchester United in the Europa League semifinals in May and accepted a voluntary provisional suspension in early June, UEFA said.

Following an investigation by two inspectors from UEFA’s ethics and disciplinary department, the governing body has suspended Álvarez for a period of 10 months. The ban will end on April 2 next year and applies to all competitions.

Álvarez, a 30-year-old center back, had to step away from soccer in 2017 for several months to treat testicular cancer. After his return to playing, he took medication to fight alopecia. He argued that the cause of his positive result on the doping test was because he “involuntarily took a medicine to prevent hair loss that contained a banned substance.”

UEFA confirmed that substance to be Canrenone.

Athletic will play in the Champions League this season after finishing fourth in the Spanish league.

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The Associated Press