Rio Ferdinand claims he grew his famous cornrows in a bid to "prove his innocence" after he was slapped with an eight-month ban for missing a drugs test at Manchester United.
The Englishman was just over a year into his career at Old Trafford when he left United's Carrington training ground at lunchtime, accidentally missing a scheduled drugs test. The incident occurred in September 2003 and although Ferdinand later took the test and passed, the Football Association (FA) Disciplinary Committee imposed an eight-month ban and £50,000 fine.
The Red Devils unsuccessfully appealed the decision and the centre-back went on to miss the remainder of the season, Euro 2004 with England and the start of the 2004/05 campaign. That was despite Ferdinand attempting to further prove his innocence by growing out his hair.
