Andre Onana has been handed a 12-month suspension by Union of European Football Association (UEFA) for failing the doping test conducted last October.
His club Ajax will appeal the 12-month suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), claiming the offence was committed unwittingly when the goalkeeper mistakenly took his wife’s medicine.
An out-of-competition check found Furosemide in the Cameroon international’s urine, but Ajax claim it was not an intentional act.
The suspension is effective as of February 5 and will apply to all football activities at both national level and international level.
A statement on the Ajax website says;
On the morning of October 30, Onana was feeling unwell. He wanted to take a pill to ease the discomfort. Unknowingly, however, he took Lasimac, a drug that his wife had previously been prescribed.
Onana’s confusion resulted in him mistakenly taking his wife’s medicine, ultimately causing this measure to be taken by UEFA against the Goalkeeper.
Furthermore, the disciplinary body of the football association has stated that Onana had no intention of cheating. However, the European Football Association believes, on the basis of the applicable anti-doping rules, that an athlete has duty at all times to ensure that no banned substance enter the body.
On his part, Ajax Managing director and former goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar said;
We explicitly renounce performance-enhancing drugs, we obviously stand for a clean sport. This is a terrible setback for Andre himself but certainly also for us as a club. Andre is a top goalkeeper, who has proven his worth for Ajax for years and is very popular with the fans.
We had hoped for a conditional suspension or for a suspension much shorter than these 12 months, because it was arguably not intended to strengthen his body and thus improve performance.
The 24-year-old will be unavailable for Cameroon until February 2022, including the Africa Cup of Nations, should they qualify.
