Iran player faces probe over dope test

Iranian footballer Saeid Ezatolahi failed a drug test in out-of-competition testing shortly before the FIFA World Cup.

Ezatolahi, a 21-year-old central midfielder who plays for Russian club side Rostov, is quoted by Sport Express and other Russian media as having failed for a luteinizing hormone, which helps produce testosterone.

He played two matches at the FIFA World Cup, where Iran finished third in Group B,

There is no certainty that the case represents a doping violation, however, and there is a precedent for the hormone occurring naturally as a result of illnesses, including cancer.