Brazilian star Romario says hair-loss medicine made him fail a doping test. The Vasco da Gama striker, a World Cup winner in 1994, had tested positive for finasteride after the game against Palmeiras on Oct. 28. "I'm losing some hair and I have been taking this product for a while," the 41-year-old said.

"I don't think it's going to disrupt my career," he said. "It's not really doping. As far as I'm concerned, it's something which has never influenced my performance. It isn't the first time I've used it. If I had known it wasn't allowed, I would never have used it.

"Some bald guys who had been taking it told me it was good. And it really worked, as you can see."

Romario played for USL-1 club Miami FC in during the 2006 season, scoring 18 league goals in 23 appearances while aiming to reach the 1,000-goal mark. According to his calculations, Romario reached the milestone last May when he converted a penalty kick for Vasco da Gama in a 3-1 win over Sport Recife.

Brazil's disciplinary tribunal has not revealed when it would rule on Romario's doping test results.