El Nacional Midfielder Marcos Olmedo Under Investigation for Possible Doping Violation

Marcos Olmedo, a midfielder for Ecuadorian club El Nacional, is under investigation for a possible doping violation, according to comments made by club president Marcos Pazos in an interview with Machdeportes. The alleged incident stems from a match against Barcelona SC in the CONMEBOL Libertadores nearly two months ago, but details of the case have only recently come to light.

“This is a problem for the player, but it also impacts the club,” said Pazos. “He is currently being investigated. I don’t want to speculate about the substances involved, but we have provided him with legal assistance. A letter has been sent to CONMEBOL. There is no official sanction yet; he is still under investigation for possibly ingesting a banned medication or food.”

Pazos added that Olmedo is “sad” about the situation and maintains that he did nothing wrong. “I’ve spoken to Marcos, and he knows he hasn’t done anything intentionally. We don’t want to jump to conclusions. We need to find out what exactly led to this result,” Pazos said.

If the doping case is confirmed, Olmedo could face a lengthy suspension, similar to fellow Ecuadorian Óscar Zambrano, who is currently serving a 16-month ban and has been unable to play for Hull City in England. For now, Olmedo has not been provisionally suspended, but the coming days will be crucial in determining the outcome of the case and the future of the 23-year-old midfielder.