Football Association asks for evidence after reports of England player alleged to have used cocaine

The FA have opened an investigation into reports from English tabloid The Sun claiming that an English international footballer was thrown out of a nightclub after being caught taking cocaine in a bathroom.

English football's governing body has asked witnesses to make themselves known after the report appeared in the newspaper, who quoted an unnamed 'club insider' as their source.

The report alleges that the player took the illegal drug during a pre-Christmas social event after an away fixture and, if true, the player in question could face censure from the FA if they find him to have breached their social drugs policy.

In addition, the newspaper claims that the player's manager sent the player home in a taxi shortly after mistakenly believing that he had drank too much.

“Everyone is talking about it," the 'club insider' was quoted as saying by The Sun.

“It wasn’t the club’s official Christmas party but a few drinks after a game and many of the players and manager were there.

“One of the players saw him doing a line in the toilets then half an hour later he was all over the place. His jaw was working overtime and he was a mess. There’s been turmoil in the dressing room most of the season and this hasn’t helped.

A ban of up to three months is the entry point for a first time offender, though they reserve the right to issue indefinite bans if they feel it appropriate. Bans of two years have been suggested for players who fail a test for Class A drugs.

“It remains a priority for The FA to find and sanction anyone found taking performance-enhancing or recreational drugs," the FA said through a spokesperson.

“We encourage anyone with information about any anti-doping violation in football to report it to The FA."

Figures from UK Anti-Doping show that they conducted 1,923 drug tests on Premier League players last year, with six failing for recreational drugs. Per policy, their names were not revealed.