Yaya Toure defends brother Kolo

Former Arsenal defender Kolo Toure has been suspended from playing until a hearing into his case is held by the Football Association, and faces anything up to a two-year ban unless he can come up with some mitigation for testing positive for a 'specified substance'. The 29-year-old believes the substance came from a stimulant contained in one of his wife's slimming tablets.

Defending his brother and fellow City star, Yaya Toure said in The Sun: "Kolo is a sane person - he did not use any substance that was illegal. My brother is damaged. And the squad is affected because Kolo is an important man for us and one of our captains, so we want a quick solution to this problem. We all have confidence in Kolo.

He added: "I am at Manchester City due to the insistence of my brother. For me it will be very hard to play without him in the team."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke to Kolo Toure soon after the City centre-back discovered he had returned a positive drugs test.

"He is devastated but legally, what is forbidden is forbidden," Wenger said.

"The mistake he made is not to have asked the Manchester City doctor whether he could take it or not.

"It was completely the kind of stupid thing that can happen when you're punished in life.

"Cross the road, don't look right or left and boom. Half the people don't ask if you deserve it, if you're caught, you're caught.

"He wants to control his weight a little bit because that is where he has some problems and he took a product belonging to his wife. I don't think there's a desire there to do something wrong and hide it."

Source: PA

Source: PA