CONMEBOL bans River Plate duo for doping

Rio de Janeiro, Oct 6 (IANS) River Plate's Lucas Martinez Quarta and Camilo Mayada have been banned by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) for seven months and fined $20,000 each for failed doping tests.

The penalty will be backdated to the start of their provisional ban, meaning they will be free to resume playing in mid-December, according to a CONMEBOL source, reports Xinhua news agency.

Uruguay international midfielder Mayada, 26, tested positive to the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide in a sample given after River Plate's Copa Libertadores match against Melgar on May 18.

Fellow midfielder Martinez Quarta, 21, was found to have traces of the same substance in his system after the clash with Emelec on May 10.

Both players have denied knowingly taking the substance.

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