Former Malta international defender Ferdinando Apap has been handed a three-month suspension after returning a positive doping test earlier this year.

The test was carried out following an FA Trophy fixture between Victoria Hotspurs and Ħamrun Spartans at the Tedesco Stadium on January 3, with results confirming the presence of cocaine in the player’s system. He was provisionally suspended immediately after the outcome became known.

Apap argued that the substance had been taken in a social context and not for performance-enhancing purposes or in connection with the match. Under current regulations, such cases still carry a standard three-month suspension. However, the ban may be reduced to one month if the player agrees to participate in an approved rehabilitation programme.

The suspension came into effect last weekend, ruling the Gozitan defender out of Victoria Hotspurs’ Amateur League One match against Attard.

Apap becomes the fourth footballer this year to be sanctioned following a positive test. Former Żebbuġ Rangers goalkeeper Jamie Azzopardi also tested positive for the same substance but served a reduced one-month suspension after entering a rehabilitation programme and has since joined Naxxar Lions.

In a separate case stemming from a Jubilee Cup quarter-final between Tarxien Rainbows and Marsaxlokk, defender Rafael Rodrigues Azevedo Tavares and goalkeeper Pablo Guillermo Sánchez Niño were both provisionally suspended after testing positive. Sánchez received a three-month ban for cannabis use, which was later reduced to one month upon completion of a rehabilitation programme.