Athletic Club have been dealt a major blow after their long-serving defender Yeray Álvarez was suspended for ten months by UEFA following a positive doping test. The European football body confirmed the ruling after Álvarez tested positive for canrenone, a banned substance, during a routine check conducted after Athletic’s Europa League semi-final first-leg defeat to Manchester United in May.
Although UEFA accepted that the violation was not intentional, the regulations state that players are fully responsible for substances found in their system.
The suspension, decided by UEFA’s disciplinary committee on August 19, 2025, runs retroactively from June 2, when Álvarez voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension. This means the 30-year-old centre-back will be unavailable for competitive action until April 2, 2026, although he will be allowed to resume training with Athletic Club two months earlier, on February 2.
The ruling therefore provides some relief in that the player will not be completely isolated from football for the entirety of the ban, but his absence from match action will nevertheless stretch across most of the 2025–26 season.
The case has attracted widespread attention not only because of the player’s importance to the Basque club but also because of his personal story. Álvarez publicly explained in July that the prohibited substance entered his body through medication used to treat alopecia, a condition he has suffered as a side effect of the chemotherapy and treatment he underwent in 2016 when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
He insisted that his ingestion of canrenone was inadvertent, describing the news of the positive test as a devastating shock. “This has been a very tough blow,” Álvarez said in his statement. “I could not believe it, given that never in my life have I taken prohibited substances.”
ℹ️ UEFA rules that Yeray made a mistake and issues a ten-month ban.
As Yeray voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension, the sanction is backdated to 2 June, meaning he can play again from 2 April 2026.
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) September 8, 2025
For Athletic Club, the timing could hardly be worse. Álvarez has been a fixture in the heart of their defense for years, making over 250 appearances for the senior side since breaking into the first team from the academy. Known for his resilience, composure, and leadership at the back, he has been an integral figure both on and off the pitch.
His absence coincides with a period in which the club has faced a shortage of defenders, with injuries and registration issues affecting squad depth. The situation was already pressing enough to force Athletic to accelerate their pursuit of Aymeric Laporte from Al Nassr earlier this summer, as manager Ernesto Valverde sought to shore up his defensive options.
Álvarez’s career has often been framed by his extraordinary comeback story. After his cancer diagnosis in 2016, he underwent treatment and returned to football within a matter of months, quickly reestablishing himself as a dependable centre-back.
His journey earned him admiration across Spanish football and beyond, with many viewing him as a symbol of perseverance.