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ANGOLAN DEFENDER YAMBA ASHA BANNED
Angolan defender Yamba Asha has been temporarily suspended for 30 days after failing a drugs test but faces a much longer ban if his second sample also proves positive.
A FIFA spokesman confirmed a disciplinary case had been opened after an A sample supplied by the left back after the World Cup qualifier against Rwanda in October tested positive.
Angola won the match in Kigali 1-0 to secure a first-ever appearance at the World Cup finals.
A second sample is to be tested before any possible ban decided on by FIFA, who gave no details on the banned substance Yamba Asha is accused of using.
If found guilty of using banned drugs, Yamba Asha could face a ban that will rule him out of next year’s World Cup finals.
Yamba Asha’s suspension came into effect on November 4 and meant he missed his club AS Aviacao win over InterClube in the Angolan Cup final last Friday.
The 29-year-old defender also missed out on his 50th cap on Wednesday when Angola were beaten 1-0 by Japan in a friendly international in Tokyo, the first match for the southern African nation since they secured a pace at next year’s World Cup finals in Germany.
Yamba Asha played all but five minutes of the 12 matches Angola played to qualify for the World Cup finals.