Cagliari forward Joao Pedro has been suspended indefinitely after testing positive for a banned substance, becoming the second Serie A player this season to be banned for failing a doping test.

Italy's national anti-doping organization announced the decision on Friday — Joao Pedro's 26th birthday — after the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide was found in his system following Cagliari drawing with Sassuolo 0-0 on Feb. 11.

Joao Pedro signed a new contract at the start of the season but has had a mixed campaign and was suspended for four matches for simulation and stamping on an opponent during a match against Fiorentina at the end of December.

In January, Benevento captain Fabio Lucioni was banned one year for doping after the steroid clostebol was found in a sample taken after his side lost to Torino 1-0 in September.

Benevento team physician Walter Giorgione was banned for four years for administering the steroid to Lucioni in a spray.

Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij called to anti-doping hearing

Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij has been summoned to an anti-doping hearing on Friday.

Lazio says it is a "bureaucratic issue."

Spokesman Arturo Diaconale told radio station RMC Sport that after Lazio beat Hellas Verona 2-0 on Feb. 19, de Vrij "did the test twice with two different kits, (and) he probably didn't sign the documents at the end of the two tests."

De Vrij has been at Lazio since 2014 and is set to leave the club at the end of the season as a free agent after contract negotiations broke down last month.

Manchester United, Liverpool, and Inter Milan are among the clubs reportedly interested in the 26-year-old de Vrij, who has played more than 30 times for the Netherlands.

The news came shortly after Cagliari forward Joao Pedro was suspended indefinitely after testing positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.