Man Utd star fined for violating UEFA anti-doping rules

Phil Jones has been banned for two matches and Daley Blind has been fined for failing anti-doping rules after the Europa League final.

UEFA announced that Jones had "insulted and verbally abused" a doping control officer when asked to carry out the procedure after the Europa League final in Stockholm on 24 May.

Jones and Blind were fined for breaching UEFA's anti-doping regulations. Photo: Man Utd.

The 25-year-old centre-back was therefore banned for two matches and fined $5,900. As a result, Jones will not be able to participate in the European Super Cup against Real and Man Utd's first match in the Champions League group stage next season.

According to Sky Sports, Daley Blind was unwilling to take a doping test after the final against Ajax because he wanted to celebrate the victory with his teammates. This behavior resulted in the Dutch defender being fined 5,900 dollars.

Man Utd were also fined £11,810 for failing to manage their players to comply with UEFA's anti-doping regulations. The English club have three days to appeal but have not yet informed UEFA whether they will do so.

"The club breached UEFA's anti-doping regulations regarding post-match testing procedures," UEFA said in a statement.

Manchester United defender Eric Baily was banned for three games for his red card in the second leg of the semi-final against Celta Vigo. Baily was sidelined for the final in Stockholm. The Ivorian will miss the European Super Cup and the first Champions League group stage game, like Jones.

This leaves Mourinho short of options in defence. Jones was on the bench for the Europa League final, but he and Baily are the central defenders Mourinho has used regularly in pre-season friendlies as new signing Victor Lindelof has yet to settle in. Another Man Utd centre-back, Marcos Rojo, has yet to recover from a knee injury.

According to VNE