DALLAS, June 30 — Diego Maradona, the Argentine superstar with a history of fabled play on the soccer field and drug use off it, was abruptly removed from World Cup play today because he had tested positive for five variants of ephedrine, a stimulant banned by soccer's international governing body.
The decision was announced at a news conference here six hours before Argentina played Bulgaria at the Cotton Bowl, losing 2-0. Maradona's appearance tonight would have been a record 22d World Cup appearance for the 33-year-old Maradona, the team captain. He almost single-handedly led his country to a World Cup championship in 1986 and sparked the team again four years later when Argentina reached the tournament's final game, losing to West Germany.
While his age and a 15-month suspension for cocaine use in 1991-92 had led many to predict that he would not be a major factor in this tournament, Maradona scored a goal and an assist in first-round victories over Greece and Nigeria, and showed some of his dazzling dribbling form of old.
The decision to remove Maradona from World Cup play was technically made by the Argentine soccer federation, which apparently spared itself any further sanctions with the action. FIFA, soccer's world governing body, said it would reserve a decision on any further punishment of Maradona until after the World Cup ends.
Argentine team officials said at the news conference that he would have no public comment. However, Maradona later spoke to Channel 13 of Buenos Aires, saying: "They have retired me from soccer. I don't think I want another revenge, my soul is broken."
His teammates were reported to be telling each other they must "win it for Diego," but they were defeated by the Bulgarians and dropped from first to third in their group.
Although ephedrine is an ingredient in some over-the-counter sinus medicines and Maradona reportedly told his team's trainer he used it for minor allergy symptoms, a FIFA official said Maradona could not have taken one medicine.
"Maradona must have taken a cocktail of drugs because the five identified substances are not found in one medicine," said Michel d'Hooghe, a doctor and a member of FIFA's executive committee.
FIFA listed the five banned substances in Maradona's test as ephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, pseudo-ephedrine, non-pseudo-ephedrine and methylephedrine. Neither FIFA nor the American organizing committee would say exactly how much of the substances had been detected.
