Mamadou Sakho sues WADA for £13m over drug test error

Crystal Palace defender Mamadou Sakho is suing the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for £13m after accusing them of a drug test-error that ended his career at Liverpool.

Sakho was provisionally banned for 30 days on April 28 2016 after being notified by European football’s governing body, UEFA, of an anti-doping offence relating to a test taken after March’s Europa League quarter-final against Manchester United.

UEFA launched their own investigation at the time into whether the fat-burning substance, Higenamine, Sakho took should even be on the banned list.

The ban meant Sakho missed Liverpool’s Europa League final defeat to Sevilla, while Sakho claimed at a High Court hearing that it cost him a place in the France squad for Euro 2016.

Higenamine, was found not to be on WADA’s prohibited list and Sakho was subsequently cleared by UEFA.

Sakho’s argues that a move away from Liverpool had a big impact on his salary and that it represented a loss of £13m in earnings.

However, WADA denies responsibility for his transfer from Liverpool, arguing that “disciplinary issues” and a “personality clash” with the manager Jurgen Klopp were the root causes.

At the end of the hearing, the judge ordered that the trial on liability – whether Wada was negligent – should take place before the amount of compensation is considered.’

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