But d'Hooghe said there was no single medical product available that would contain all five drug derivatives. And, he said, "Whatever way he there is of taking it, it is forbidden under the doping regulations of FIFA."

Ephedrine and its variants are commonly used by asthmatics and hay-fever sufferers to help clear the respiratory system, but taken in greater concentrations the drug can also be used as an adrenaline-like stimulant, to increase energy or to lose weight. Maradona had lost at least 26 pounds in preparation for World Cup play.

The tests were administered after the Argentina's 2-1 victory over Nigeria in Foxboro, Mass., last weekend, in which Maradona played the entire game. He and another Argentine player were randomly selected afterward for drug tests. Maradona's positive sample prompted FIFA to have his second sample analyzed at a U.C.L.A. laboratory in Los Angeles. It also came out positive.

Victory Over Nigeria Remains

FIFA said apparent use of the drug by one player was not enough to warrant a challenge to the game's outcome.

"If two players had been found guilty," said Joseph S. (Sepp) Blatter, FIFA's general secretary, "FIFA probably would have changed the result."

Although Argentina and Nigeria qualified for the second round of the tournament, a reversal of Saturday's result could have significantly altered their seeding and next-round opponents.

The suspension marked the third time a player has been thrown out of World Cup play for violating doping regulations. In 1974, Ernest Jean-Joseph of Haiti was suspended for a sustance that was not publicly identified, and in 1978, Willie Johnston of Scotland was sent home for using another stimulant, fencamfamine.