Former national ice hockey player Yannic Seidenberg has been banned for four years for a doping violation.
This decision was made by the German Sports Arbitration Court (DIS) and followed a request from the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA). NADA announced this on Tuesday (November 21, 2023). Seidenberg was provisionally suspended by NADA and his club Red Bull Munich in September 2022 after a training inspection “an analysis result that deviates from the norm” had provided.
Mareike Zeck, Sportschau, November 21, 2023 1:41 p.m
Testosterone and the substance DHEA were detected in the defender, one of the Olympic silver medalists at Pyeongchang 2018.
The ban takes effect retroactively from September 2022
“The ban was imposed retroactively, taking into account the provisional suspension, and begins on September 14, 2022.”said NADA. In addition, all competition results achieved in the period from January 19, 2022 to September 14, 2022 will be “with all the resulting consequences” canceled.
This refers to Seidenberg’s personal successes. The Red Bull Munich club, which was runner-up in the 2021/22 season, does not initially have to fear any consequences.
Lawyer sees no “fault”
Seidenberg protests his innocence and blames his doctor for the positive sample. “Because Yannic Seidenberg had also instructed the doctor treating him, with a view to possible doping controls, not to prescribe any substances prohibited under the prohibited list, in our view set out in the arbitration proceedings, there is no behavior that can be sanctioned with a ban due to a lack of fault (…). ; in any case, the arbitral tribunal would have had to significantly reduce the ban to be imposed.”said Seidenberg’s lawyer Rainer Cherkeh.
Seidenberg has played 173 international matches and the three-time German champion and former DEL defender of the year ended his international career in April 2022. The now 39-year-old still has the opportunity to go to the CAS International Court of Arbitration for Sport. “The filing of an appeal is being examined”said Seidenberg’s lawyer.