Players’ chief Gordon Taylor has labelled Manchester City’s decision to
hold a disciplinary hearing with Kolo Toure over his failed drugs test as
“strange”.
GettyImagesKolo Toure joined Manchester City from Arsenal in 2009 for £16 million
• Kolo Toure to learn fate at City hearing
Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA),
attended the hearing with Toure on Monday afternoon and the outcome of the gross
misconduct charge is expected later this week.
Toure, who has served a six-month ban imposed by the FA, produced character
references from his former club Arsenal and a number of fellow players at the
hearing.
He insists he tested positive for a because he took one of his wife’s slimming
pills not knowing it contained a banned substance.
Taylor said the six-month ban was punishment enough, but City insist the PFA
knew about the charge as far back as July.
Taylor said: “We have had the hearing today and we
presented the fact that the FA could have given him two years but only gave him
six months because they took into account that it was a genuine mistake and not
performance-enhancing or a diuretic to mask drug-taking.
“He also had excellent character references from Arsenal and a number of other
players. It just seems strange that after being welcomed back to the club, reinstated
as captain for Carling Cup matches, that someone has come up with this hearing.
“Instead of sending out a message that this is someone who has made a mistake
and served his punishment already, they are now taking action against him again.
It seems very strange against someone who is acknowledged by all concerned to
have a top-class character.”
Taylor said the Ivory Coast defender, whose brother Yaya Toure is
also at Manchester City, had been shocked to find out City were to hold a
disciplinary hearing.
“He trained every day while he was off and maintained a very positive attitude
so he was shocked to find they were looking to take action against him,” Taylor said.
The hearing was held by City’s football administrator Brian Marwood and a City
lawyer.
City’s chief communications officer Vicky Kloss added:
“It is not a new decision – we had consultations with the PFA about this in
July.”