West Ham ban medio for cocaine use

West Ham midfielder Shaun Newton was suspended for seven months Wednesday after testing positive for cocaine.

West Ham midfielder Shaun Newton was suspended for seven months Wednesday after testing positive for cocaine.

The Football Association said the 30-year-old Newton tested positive following West Ham’s FA Cup 1-0 semi-final win over Middlesbrough on April 23. Newton came on as an 89th-minute substitute. He didn’t play in the final, which West Ham lost on penalties to Liverpool.

The ban began May 20, the day when he was suspended by the club. “He will be subject to target testing throughout the period of the suspension,” the FA said in a statement.

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West Ham said Newton didn’t travel with the club when the Hammers left on a pre-season tour of Sweden on Wednesday. West Ham’s board will decide on Newton’s future at a meeting next month.

“I have let down my family, my friends, the club and its supporters,” Newton told the London Evening Standard newspaper. “It was an isolated incident, but I must face up to my responsibilities and I will abide by whatever the board decides.”

Newton played 30 times for West Ham last season. He played three times for the England Under-21 side. He began his career at Charlton, where he played from 1993 to 2001. He moved to Wolves until 2005 before joining West Ham.

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