WADA recognizes defamation and innocence of French defender Mamadou Sakho

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) acknowledged having defamed French defender Mamadou Sakho in the press. Sakho was suspended in 2016 by his former club, Liverpool, and by UEFA for a positive test before being declared innocent, according to a document accessed by AFP on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old French defender, currently playing for Crystal Palace, denounced two statements made by WADA to British newspapers, in which it continued to assert that he had consumed prohibited substances, even though he had already been declared innocent because those products were not on the list of banned substances when they were detected.

"WADA acknowledged that it should not have made those defamatory statements because Sakho had been declared innocent," said the WADA lawyer in the court document.

"WADA recognized that Sakho had not violated UEFA's anti-doping regulations, that he had not cheated, that there was no intention of gaining an advantage, and that he acted in good faith," he added.

The player had claimed £13 million ($17 million) in damages from WADA, arguing that these statements had hastened the end of his career at Liverpool and affected his value in the transfer market.

WADA has agreed to pay "a consequential amount," the value of which is confidential, as well as taking care of the player's "legal fees."

Sakho tested positive in March 2016 for using a fat burner. He was later declared innocent by UEFA's disciplinary committee as the product in question was not listed by WADA.

Denied the Europa League final with the Reds and a likely call-up to the French national team for Euro 2016, he no longer played for Liverpool and was loaned out in January 2017 to Crystal Palace before making the move permanent.

AFP