Gurpegi wins temporary reprieve

Positive test
Gurpegi, who has always denied knowingly taking any banned substance, tested positive for 19-norandrosterone, a metabolite of the steroid nandrolone, in the first match of the season on 1 September.

'A step forward'
"It's a step forward, we consider the player to be innocent and we want to be able to count on him," said Athletic's sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta. "We are now hoping that our appeal against the two-year ban itself will be successful."

Athletic appeal
The 22-year-old player was originally suspended on 15 February while the case was being investigated, but the ban was lifted at the start of April following an appeal by the club.

Ruling overturned
A month later the RFEF announced that Gurpegi had been given a two-year ban, but Athletic lodged another appeal and have once again managed to have the ruling overturned pending further inquiries.

Club complains
The Basque club have consistently complained about the way the case has been handled by the football authorities, saying that the rights of the player have been contravened by suspending him before the case has been fully resolved.

University studies
Athletic officials said in March that studies the club had commissioned from the University of Extremadura showed that the player produced the substance naturally and had not taken it from an external source.

Significant change
They explained that tests had been carried out on the player before and after a league match against Real Valladolid at the end of December that showed levels of the substance had changed significantly as a result of physical exercise.