He took his wife's medication and was suspended for a year .. Innocent or indicted Ajax goalkeeper?
Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam announced, on Friday, that its Cameroonian international goalkeeper Andre Onana has been suspended for a year by the European Football Association (UEFA) for doping.
"UEFA Disciplinary Committee has suspended André Onana for 12 months for violating anti-doping rules after an off-competition test on October 30," a statement on the club's website said.
He added that the decision "entered into force as of today and applies to all domestic and international football activities."
The club indicated that a urine test revealed the presence of the banned substance furosemide after the Cameroonian "accidentally" ingested his wife's medicine.
The statement affirmed that the disciplinary committee of Lueva "considered that Unana had no intention of cheating. However, UEFA believes, on the basis of the application of the applicable anti-doping rules, that the athlete's duty at all times is to ensure that no prohibited substances enter the body." .
Ajax stated that he and Onana, who will miss the upcoming African Nations Cup at home, will file an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar said, "We strongly reject performance-enhancing drugs, and it is clear that we are in favor of clean sport. This is a terrible setback for Andre himself but certainly for us as a club."
He continued, "We were hoping for a suspension with conditions or for a much shorter period of 12 months, because he did not intentionally mean to strengthen his body and thus improve his performance."
This is a second setback for Ajax within two days after he made a "huge mistake" on Thursday when his new player, Ivory Coast, Sebastian Haller, who arrived in the team from West Ham in early January, was not registered in the lists of the "Europa League" competitions.
So the player who became the most expensive deal in the club’s history after arriving for a fee of 22.5 million euros, is not eligible to play the 32nd round of the European League against French Lille on February 18 and 25.
Ajax confirmed that it would take action with the European Football Association (UEFA), to try to include the name of its player again.
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