Hamburg and Croatia Under-21 defender Mario Voskovic has been banned from football for years for doping after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance EPO last year.
- The 21-year-old tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance EPO
- The results have been confirmed by other doping experts outside of Germany
- Hamburg are preparing to appeal the DFB’s decision
The German Football Association announced, Thursday, that Mario Voskovic, the Croatian under-21 national team player, who plays for second-division club Hamburg, has been suspended for two years due to doping.
The 21-year-old defender, who joined Hamburg in 2021, had tested positive for containing the performance-enhancing substance EPO.
“All analyzes show clear detection of a substance foreign to the body, EPO, even if in reduced quantities,” said Stefan Oberholz, head of the German Football Association’s sports tribunal.
He said Voskovitch’s A and B samples were tested repeatedly.
The results were also confirmed by other doping experts outside Germany and “the player was unable to provide evidence of a false doping finding”.
Hamburg’s defender Mario Voskovic (right) has been banned for two years for doping
The DFB said that Voskovic’s first offense and the small amount of EPO meant that this was not a case of systematic doping.
Due to the player’s young age combined with the effect that a lengthy ban could have on his future professional development, the DFB opted for a two-year ban, rather than longer.
Hamburg said it would appeal the decision.
The player, who played 16 matches in the second division this season and scored two goals, had submitted a urine sample in September last year, and his suspension was delayed on November 15, 2022.
(tags for translation) Daily Mail
