Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Bosnich was charged with bringing the game into disrepute and breaching doping regulations by the Football Association after he tested positive for cocaine.
The 30-year-old Australian has been suspended from all football activities until the charges have been heard.
A statement on the FA's website said: "The Football Association can confirm that Mark Bosnich of Chelsea FC has been charged with breaches of FA Rules E1 and E26.
"The FA would not normally make any public statements at this stage of a case of this type. However, in view of numerous media reports over the past few weeks, the situation required clarification.
"The charges respectively relate to bringing the game into disrepute and to breaching the FA's Doping Regulations by testing positive for a prohibited substance, namely cocaine.
"Bosnich will be suspended from all football activities until the charges have been heard."
Bosnich, who has not played for Chelsea since November 2001 and has made just seven appearances for the premier league club, was diagnosed with severe depression last month and admitted to a clinic for treatment.
The former Aston Villa and Manchester United goalkeeper had been the subject of intense media speculation in recent weeks that he had failed a drugs test, but the FA had previously refused to confirm or deny the allegations.
Chelsea chairman Ken Bates criticised the FA last week for taking more than five weeks to check the player's B sample, a process usually completed within 14 days.
If the charges are upheld Bosnich could face up to a year's worldwide ban from the game, which could also bring his turbulent stay at Chelsea to an abrupt end. Bosnich, despite an amiable exterior, has courted controversy since his league debut for Manchester United in 1990.
In October 1996 he was fined Stg£1,000 and censured by the FA after he was found guilty of misconduct by upsetting Tottenham Hotspur fans with a Nazi-style salute at White Hart Lane.
The following year he hit the headlines again when he stormed out of Derby County's Pride Park stadium after being named only as a substitute by then Aston Villa manager Brian Little.
Bosnich was expected to be the natural replacement for Peter Schmeichel when he moved to Manchester United from Villa in 1999.
But he only made a handful of appearances and his fitness was criticised by United manager Alex Ferguson.
Following his free transfer to Chelsea in January 2001, Bosnich fell out with manager Claudio Ranieri after refusing to travel to Wales for a pre-season match.