Couto gets 10-month ban for doping

Lazio defender Fernando Couto has been banned for 10 months after testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone…

Lazio defender Fernando Couto has been banned for 10 months after testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone, ANSA news agency reported.

The Portugal international had been provisionally suspended by the Italian League on April 27th - the date from which his ban will start - after he failed a dope test following a league match against Fiorentina in January.

Couto was also fined 100 million lire ($45,160) by the League, which handed out three further bans on Friday for nandrolone use.

Former Bari goalkeeper Jean Francois Gillet and Piacenza midfielder Stefano Sachetti were banned for 10 months, while Sachetti's team mate Nicola Caccia, a striker, was suspended for eight months. All three men, who had been suspended last season pending a definitive sentence, were also fined 50 million lire.