Panathinaikos to end banned player’s term
Panathinaikos, according to reports, intends to terminate the contract of Yiannis Yiannoulis, a regular player on the national team, after he was handed a two-year suspension by the local basketball federation for failing a drug test. Yiannoulis tested positive for nandrolon, a banned performance-enhancing substance, it was announced on Tuesday. The player plans to appeal the decision, but Panathinaikos has announced its decision is final regardless of the verdict. According to the sports tribunal’s regulations, the two-year suspension is the minimal penalty that can be imposed for such instances, while any future violations by the player carry an immediate lifetime ban. The 25-year-old center player began his professional career with PAOK in 1994, helping it win two Greek cups – 1995 and 1999 – with the Thessaloniki side, and transferred to Panathinaikos last year. Yiannoulis was a member of this year’s Euroleague winning side and has played 52 games with the national team.
