Former Brazil striker Romario was banned for 120 days on Tuesday for a failed dope test which he blamed on a hair-loss treatment.

Brazilian football's disciplinary tribunal suspended the 1994 World Cup winner after the 41-year-old tested positive for the banned masking agent finasteride following a match for Vasco da Gama against Palmeiras in October.

Romario, who has played sporadically since scoring what he claimed to be his 1,000th goal in May, broke the news himself earlier this month in a news conference. He blamed a hair-loss product which he had been taking for some time.

Two days after making the announcement, Romario was named as Vasco's player-coach. He had intended to keep playing for the first few weeks of the 2008 season.