- Aivi Luki insists that “a mistake has been made”
- Regarding the three-month suspension for doping violation
- The 39-year-old Matildas defender is likely to appeal the ban
Matildas star Aivi Luik is protesting her innocence after revealing she has been banned for three months for a doping violation.
Luik believes she was wrongly suspended by Italian anti-doping authorities over a charge related to her time at Serie A club Pomigliano.
The defender, who left the Italian club in 2022 to join Sweden’s BK Hacken, retired from the Australian national team ahead of the Paris Olympics.
At the time, the 39-year-old’s withdrawal from the Matildas contest was attributed to a hamstring injury.
In fact, in April Italian authorities told Luik that she had been suspended for three months due to a doping violation.
“I still can’t believe I’m in the middle of this and I truly believe a mistake has been made.” Luik wrote on Instagram on Thursday.
“I look forward to continuing my fight to appeal this ruling and prove my innocence.”
The doping accusation came after Pomigliano sent Luik to a specialist for treatment for a back injury in March 2022.
Matildas star Aivi Luik is protesting her innocence after revealing she has been banned for three months for a doping violation.
Luik, 39, believes she was wrongly suspended by Italian anti-doping authorities over a charge related to her time at Serie A club Pomigliano in 2022.
On March 29 of that year, a doctor administered a painkilling injection containing a substance banned in competition under the World Anti-Doping Code, essentially meaning it is prohibited on match days.
Pomigliano reportedly requested an incorrect exemption certificate from Italy’s anti-doping agency, which the club believed would have allowed him to play.
Luik was an unused substitute in a match on April 2, after which Italy’s anti-doping body Nado Italia rejected the club’s request for an exemption.
The Australian was released from Pomigliano for the last three games of the season, her contract expired and she moved to Sweden.
Luik, who played at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and was part of the Matildas’ World Cup squad last year, lost her case before an Italian anti-doping tribunal.
He is considering lodging an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Luik, who has 48 caps for Australia, has withdrawn from contention for the Matildas’ Olympic squad this year over fears her case could become a distraction during the Paris Games.
“I knew that, first of all, no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn’t be able to train at my best level and be at 100 percent, which is what is required of every athlete on the team,” he told the Sports Ambassador podcast published Thursday.
Luik played at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and was part of the Matildas’ World Cup squad last year on home soil.
‘More than that, I was terrified that this could affect the team, because we had a great opportunity coming into that tournament to do well and ultimately win a medal.
‘I was really scared to think that maybe something like that would happen during the Olympic tournament and what that could do to the girls and the team in general… how it would take the focus away from them and probably negatively affect their performance.
“There was no way I could do that. I had to withdraw my name from the selection.”
Australia’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) said Luik had been in “constant contact” with the organisation throughout the saga.
“We will continue to ensure that he receives the full support of the players’ association’s resources,” the PFA said in a statement.
‘The Aivi case further highlights the need to establish an anti-doping system that respects the fundamental rights of athletes and is effective in achieving its stated objectives.’