City player caught up in drugs storm

Manchester City's UEFA Cup tie tonight has been overshadowed by the latest drugs controversy to hit football.

Christian Negouai, a devout Muslim, was forced to break his Ramadan vow not to eat or drink during daylight hours in order to give a urine sample to Football Association doping officials.

City manager Kevin Keegan said midfielder Negouai, 28, was "very upset" at having to break his fast after training on Tuesday but admitted the Rio Ferdinand furore had created extra pressure on players.

Keegan is to raise the matter with FA medical officer Alan Hodson as a matter of urgency.

He said: "Christian had to drink water to get a sample and he didn't want to do it. On the one hand I'm saying to him, 'If you don't take it, it looks very suspicious', on the other it's his belief, it's his religion.

"There are times when football and religion cross over, and we all have to be understanding."

It is not the first time Negouai has been caught up in a drugs row. He was named as the player fined £2,000 for accidentally missing a drugs test last season.

Had he refused to provide a sample, Negouai, who said he could not have passed water without drinking, would almost certainly have followed Ferdinand in being charged with missing or refusing a drugs test.

According to sources, UK Sport officials, who conducted the test, would not accept Ramadan, which lasts throughout the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, as an adequate excuse.