MILAN, July 29 — Atalanta defender Jose Palomino will request the retesting of the samples for which he was handed a provisional suspension by Italy’s Anti-Doping Court for containing a banned substance, the Serie A club said on Thursday.

Italy’s anti-doping organisation said on Tuesday the Argentine player had tested positive for a metabolite of clostebol, a steroid on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) banned list that is also be found in some medications.

"The firm belief, in light of the investigations, that it can be demonstrated that he was innocent remains strong,” Atalanta said in a statement.

The Bergamo-based club added Palomino would also request the full analytical documentation of the samples.

The suspension comes before the start of the new Serie A campaign, which Atalanta kick off on Aug. 13 at Sampdoria after finishing eighth in the table last season. — Reuters