For failing an out-of-competition drug test, Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana was given a 12-month ban. The club said their number one inadvertently took medication prescribed for his wife.
The Eredivisie club announced that UEFA had suspended the Cameroon international after it detected the illegal substance Furosemide in its urine following a test in October 2020.
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 misunderstanding resulted in him accidentally taking medication from his child. Eventually prompting UEFA to take this action 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 a duty at all times to ensure that no banned substances enter the body.”
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 his performance.”
