Mutu drugs confession

Adrian Mutu has confessed to repeatedly using cocaine, ahead of today's Football Association hearing into his positive drugs test.

Having initially denied ever taking the drug after testing positive following an out-of-competition test last month Mutu then claimed last week, through the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association Gordon Taylor, that it was a "one-off ".

Taylor was quoted as saying: "At the moment there is no reason to believe it is anything but a one-off problem."

But Standard Sport has learned that in his initial hearing with the FA two weeks ago and in private meetings with the PFA and his former club Chelsea, the Romanian international admitted using the drug "several times".

Although Chelsea suspect he has been using drugs since before he joined the club in a £ 15.8million transfer in August 2003, he has only admitted to taking cocaine on up to a dozen occasions.

Mutu hopes that by owning up to his drug problem he will receive lenient treatment from the FA, who are expected to hand him a worldwide ban from football of between three and six months, following today's hearing.

The 25-year-old has already agreed to a period of rehabilitation at Tony Adams's Sporting Chance clinic and is confident of being free to resume his career by the start of next season.

Today, PFA chief Taylor appeared to backtrack from his position last week when he said: "Cocaine has not been a persistent activity for the player but he has used the drug on a number of occasions this year because of problems in his personal life. There's no evidence that this is a persistent problem and he's accepted his guilt."