Benevento captain Fabio Lucioni risks a four-year ban from soccer after testing positive for a banned substance.
Lucioni was provisionally suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping organization on Friday after the steroid clostebol was found in a sample taken after Benevento’s 1-0 loss to Torino on Sept. 10.
“While waiting for all the verifications of the matter to be carried out, I’ll limit myself to saying that I have only followed the prescriptions of Benevento’s club doctor and that I have only taken, in complete good faith, medicines indicated by him,” Lucioni told Italian news agency Ansa.
The 29-year-old Lucioni faces a suspension of one to four years.
Lucioni joined Benevento in 2014 and the defender helped the team move from the third division up into Serie A for the first time.
