Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids will appeal against his five-month doping suspension imposed by the Italian football league, one of his lawyers said today.
The Juventus player, who has protested his innocence, was handed the ban on Tuesday by the league's disciplinary committee.
"We will definitely appeal the ban. Edgar was quite surprised when he heard the ban was for five months and also disappointed," his lawyer Robert Geerlings said.
Davids, who has won more than 40 international caps, wants to clear his name or at least reduce the length of time he will be out of action, Geerlings added.
The 28-year-old was suspended after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone after a Serie A game in March. The ban is backdated to the start of his suspension and he will be able to play again when Juventus face Bologna on October 20th.
But the ban also rules him out of the Netherlands' World Cup qualifying game against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday. The Dutch also still have to play Estonia and Andorra in European qualifying group two.