News Round-up: Adrian Mutu returned to London from a short break in Italy last night facing the prospect of a two-year, worldwide suspension should the result of a test on his B sample confirm that the Chelsea striker has taken cocaine.
The Romanian international flew in from Rome to attend an hastily convened meeting with club officials at a London hotel, with his representatives Victor Becali, Andrea Pretti and Gica Popescu also in attendance. They intend to await the results of the second test - UK Sport is understood to have given Mutu permission to have the B sample scrutinised in Bucharest - this week, though the player's immediate prospects appear grim.
The striker, already out of favour at Stamford Bridge, said last night he was devastated by confirmation that he had failed the drugs test administered last month. "I'm obviously shocked and I want to know the truth," he said.
"Mutu is destroyed," said Popescu, the former Tottenham and Romania midfielder. "We'll discuss his future after we see what Chelsea decide."
Popescu admitted that the drug in question was not usually regarded as performance-enhancing, but neither he nor the club would confirm that it was cocaine. Chelsea, he explained, are bound by a confidentiality clause.
Should the second test confirm Mutu's guilt, the FA would hold a disciplinary hearing to address the case. The authorities would be able to fine him and impose a suspension of anything from six months to two years.
FIFA would consider fining the association should the punishment be deemed too lenient and not in line with its disciplinary code.
Chelsea would most likely cancel Mutu's £60,000-a-week contract should he be found guilty. Chelsea suspended their goalkeeper Mark Bosnich two years ago after he tested positive for cocaine and sacked him when his B sample confirmed that finding.
Meanwhile, Craig Bellamy has played down suggestions that he has fallen out with Graeme Souness and will be seeking a transfer from Newcastle after television cameras captured him apparently mouthing an obscenity in his manager's direction on Sunday.
The Wales forward, already unhappy at his country's two World Cup qualifying defeats the previous week, had just been substituted for Shola Ameobi during the draw at Charlton and blames cumulative frustration for his reaction.
"It had been a bad week," he explained. "I don't want a showdown with the manager. I've got two-and-a-half years left on my contract and I want to spend them at Newcastle."
Leeds United yesterday joined the growing list of clubs gambling on the development of new Las Vegas-style casinos as a means of easing their financial worries.
The bookmaker and casino owner Stanley Leisure has confirmed it has handed Leeds United £5 million to acquire Leeds Properties, a subsidiary company which owns a long-term lease on a seven-acre tract of land adjacent to Elland Road.
The money will go towards servicing the club's debts, which now stand at just over £30 million after United agreed last week to sell their Thorp Arch training complex for £4.2 million.
Celtic are expected to revive their long-standing interest in luring Gary Naysmith back to Scotland during the January transfer window after he rejected a new contract at Everton.
