Fiji FA allows players with pending drug cases to play as BOG testing produces two new positives

The Fiji Football Association has allowed players with unresolved drug-related disciplinary cases to return to competition, a decision that has already affected the ongoing Battle of the Giants in Ba and comes while the association continues conducting drug tests throughout the tournament.

Fiji FA chief executive Mohammed Yusuf confirmed that the association’s disciplinary committee decided that players whose cases remain pending could resume playing while the relevant proceedings are finalised.

The clearest example came with Labasa forward France Catarogo, who received clearance at around 1pm on the opening day of the BOG, only two hours before the defending champions faced Nasinu.

Catarogo had been suspended after failing a drug test during the 2026 Fiji FACT in Labasa in June. His availability for the BOG had remained uncertain enough that Labasa initially left the number nine position vacant when submitting their tournament squad, awaiting the outcome of the disciplinary process.

The late decision allowed Catarogo to return immediately and feature in Labasa’s 1-0 opening victory over Nasinu.

His case is not the only one affected.

Lautoka players Veleni Rasorewa and Epeli Leiroti had already been cleared to play while their respective cases remained pending, and both are operating under the same broader situation in which footballers have been permitted to compete before final judgments have been delivered.

Yusuf explained that the players were released in order to avoid what he described as “procedural harm” while the disciplinary committee completes its work, including consideration of a legal submission involving Lautoka.

Final judgments in the outstanding cases are expected to follow in the coming weeks.

The distinction is important: the players have been cleared to play while their cases are pending, rather than cleared of the matters themselves.

The situation has become particularly notable during the Battle of the Giants because Fiji FA has simultaneously continued its drug-testing programme at the tournament.

After the first two days of competition, 48 players had been tested, with two positive results recorded during the opening day. All 24 tests conducted on the second day returned negative results.

Fiji FA also confirmed that one of the associations connected to a positive result from the opening day is appealing the outcome.

The identities of the players involved in those two new positive tests have not been publicly disclosed.

The latest cases come only a few months after the Fiji FACT, where drug testing became one of the major off-field issues of the tournament.

A total of 72 players were tested during that competition, with four positive results for prohibited drugs recorded. Three involved marijuana, while another involved methamphetamine.

Fiji FA described the methamphetamine case at the time as particularly serious and reiterated its zero-tolerance position on prohibited substances. Three of the cases were also reported to involve repeat offenders, potentially exposing those involved to significantly longer suspensions.

Two additional players returned positive alcohol results during the same testing programme, although one was associated with medication that had been declared beforehand.

The association has increasingly expanded drug and alcohol testing across its major competitions and domestic leagues, presenting the programme as part of its efforts to protect players and maintain the integrity of football in Fiji.

However, the situation at the current BOG has created an unusual overlap between that policy and the disciplinary process.

Players previously suspended following positive tests have now been permitted to return while their appeals or disciplinary matters remain unresolved, while at the same tournament new positive results are continuing to be recorded.

For Catarogo, the decision provided an immediate route back into one of Fiji football’s biggest competitions. For Lautoka, the earlier clearances of Rasorewa and Leiroti similarly strengthened their available squad during the BOG.

For Fiji FA, however, the wider issue is likely to remain relevant beyond the tournament itself.

With appeals still being heard, final judgments yet to be delivered and two additional positive tests already recorded during the current BOG, the association’s disciplinary procedures and the way provisional suspensions are handled will continue to be closely watched as the competition moves towards its knockout stage.