UEFA ban Onana for one year after failing drugs test

UEFA's disciplinary body has imposed a 12-month ban on Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana for violating doping rules.

In an out-of-competition test on 30 October 2020, the substance furosemide was found in the urine of the 24-year-old Cameroonian goalkeeper. This is a loop diuretic used in the treatment of congestive heart failure, hypertension and oedema. Due to its diuretic effect, furosemide may mask the administration of other doping agents or interact with them.

That's why UEFA has decided to ban the goalkeeper of the Dutch outfit, a ban that comes into force on Friday 5th February and which will be applied to all footballing activity, both national and international.

Ajax clarified in an official statement published on their website that he accidentally took the medication as he was feeling bad. It seems that he woke up feeling sick on the morning of 30th October and, without knowing, took Lasimac, a medication that had been prescribed for his wife.

"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 a duty at all times to ensure that no banned substances enter the body", the Ajax statement added.

Ajax's general director also spoke about what happened to the club's website: "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 twelve months, because it was arguably not intended to strengthen his body and thus improve his performance", Van der Sar ended.

 

February 5, 2021