Former Argentine captain Diego Maradona has tested positive for illicit drugs, an official with the Argentine Football Association said on Thursday. It is the third time the player has been caught and the positive test seems certain to end his football career.

Maradaona said he was not worried about the urine test, saying that earlier in the day he had undergone his own personal test that he said came out negative.

Mauricio Macri, the president of Maradona's team, the Boca Juniors, told a radio station here that evidence of cocaine was found after Maradona was subjected to a urine test following the Boca Juniors' defeat of the Argentine Juniors 4-2 last Sunday.

"Maradona has failed himself more than the Boca team," Macri said. Maradona has been automatically suspended until a second test, expected to be carried out next week.

Represenatives of his club will be at the test, which if again positive, will leave the player facing a likely one year ban minimum.

A FIFA spokesman in Zurich said that it was a matter for the Argentina Football Federation (AFA) to deal with but said they would be expecting the AFA to report their findings and any suspension levelled against Maradona.