Defender temporarily suspended
HSV trainer Tim Walter has criticized the anti-doping agency Nada in the case of Mario Vuskovic (21). “Nada has its monopoly, you don’t notice anything and don’t know what’s going on. It’s hard for us to deal with it,” said the 47-year-old (quoted via “Hamburg evening paper“) on Monday when the Hanseatic League returned to training. Vuskovic had tested positive for the doping agent Epo in mid-November and was then provisionally banned by the German Football Association (DFB) before the analysis of the B sample also showed a positive result in December.
The provisional ban for the Croatian U21 national player applies until the decision of the DFB sports court in the main – the “Hamburger Abendblatt” says that the DFB wants to set a trial date in the coming weeks. While Nada only accompanies the doping case, the procedural sovereignty lies with the DFB. Vuskovic faces a four-year ban. “I have never experienced anything like this. The situation is difficult for me too,” said Walter. For Vuskovic, who is currently keeping fit in his home town of Split, he is “very, very sorry”: “I’m in contact with Mario, we talk on the phone a lot. Of course his state of mind is not good, but he still trains hard for himself.” He also said: “In this way, individual fitness can be maintained over a certain period of time, what is missing are the tactical processes of the team, the cooperation with his comrades. I don’t have any experience and I can’t say how long that can be sustained.”
Like Walter, Vuskovic switched to HSV in 2021: first on loan from Hajduk Split, then finally last summer – the “Red Pants” paid a total of 4.2 million euros for the rental fee and transfer fee. In return, Vuskovic signed a contract until 2025.
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HSV is currently looking for a replacement for the Croatian. “We’re looking around,” confirmed Walter. He continued: “Claus Costa in particular (squad planner; ed.) is always very busy and tries very hard. Good players are always welcome at HSV, we can always get better.” In the TM rumor mill, the names Jan Elvedi (26) from Jahn Regensburg and Hauke Wahl (28) from Holstein Kiel were recently associated with Hamburg.
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