Ajax Goalkeeper Andre Onana has been handed a 12-month suspension for failing an out of competition doping test.
According to the Eredivisie clubside, the Cameroon international was banned by UEFA after they found the forbidden substance Furosemide in his urine, following the test in October 2020.
The management of the Dutch club however defended their Goalkeeper insisting that Onana mistakingly took some drugs prescribed for his wife
The doping suspension is effective from February 5 and applies to all football activities.
The club said on October 30, Onana was feeling unwell and wanted to take a pill to ease the discomfort. Unknowingly, he took Lasimac, a drug that his wife had previously been taking
This led to the unfortunate ban by UEFA against the goalkeeper.
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Although the disciplinary body of the football association has stated that Onana had no intention of cheating ,the European Football Association believes, on the basis of the applicable anti-doping rules, that an athlete has a duty at all times to ensure that no banned substances enter the body
The Dutch club who are currently seven points clear at the top of the Eredivisie, confirmed they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Ajax managing director and former goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar said the club explicitly renounce performance-enhancing drugs, and obviously stand for a clean sport.
He said the development is a terrible setback, for the Goalkeeper and the club.
Andre Onana is a top goalkeeper, who has proven his worth for Ajax for years and is very popular with the fans.
The club had hoped for a conditional suspension or for a suspension much shorter than the twelve months, because the Goalkeeper arguably never intended to strengthen his body nor planned to improve his performance.
