Zinedine Zidane has hit out at claims which suggest he and other players may have been involved in doping.
Former Juve man rejects doping allegations
Zinedine Zidane has hit out at the author of a book which suggested he and several other 1998 World Cup winners may have been involved in doping practices.
Former France team doctor Jean-Pierre Paclet published
Implosion last month, in which he alleged that "blood sample tests on several France players just before the 1998 World Cup revealed anomalies".
He also said: "There is room for suspicion, given the clubs where some of the players are employed, notably in the Italian league."
However, former Juventus midfielder Zidane has played down the claims, suggesting Paclet was attempting to shock in order to sell more copies.
"It's not nice to hear, and it's unfortunate, but that's life," Zidane told
TV5 Monde.
"People like that are just looking to boost their book sales by adding some shocking content. It's not new."
Affair
Zidane spent from 1996-2001 with Juventus, who won three Serie A titles and one European Cup in the 1990s, when the club was also embroiled in a drugs affair.
The situation led to a trial for Juve chief executive Antonio Giraudo and team doctor Riccardo Agricola.
At a trial in 2004 Italian prosecutors charged that, while the substances in question were legal, they were employed in such a way that they produced the same effects as performance-enhancing drugs.
Zidane admitted at the trial to being given drugs at the Italian club, but claimed to court officials he was told they were vitamins.
