Soccer-UEFA-led doping study reveals many conspicuous results-ARD

BERLIN, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A doping study conducted by the European soccer body UEFA has revealed a higher than expected rate of conspicuous levels of testosterone that in some cases could potentially point towards doping, German broadcaster ARD said on Saturday. The broadcaster said that along with the British Sunday Times newspaper it had seen the study conducted by 12 European anti-doping labs where more than 4,000 urine samples from about 900 top footballers between 2008 and 2013, mainly from the European leagues, were tested. ARD, which said the samples were anonymous, will screen its full programme on Sunday. A total of 68 players returned samples that showed conspicuous levels of testosterone, the broadcaster said, which represented a percentage of 7.7 compared to 1.3 percent of conspicuous levels in older tests. Higher levels of testosterone can occur naturally in some cases but can also be the result of doping. UEFA told Reuters it was a complex study involving several labs but refused to comment specifically on its results. The German broadcaster and the English newspaper had claimed in August the world athletics body IAAF had failed to follow up on hundreds of suspicious doping tests, prompting the launch of an investigation with results expected in November. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Ralph Boulton)