The third day of the trial against HSV professional Mario Vuskovic, who was suspended on suspicion of doping, ended without a verdict. The parties to the proceedings are to receive a decision in writing within the next two weeks.
“We have a demanding and very strenuous process, where there is a lot at stake for everyone involved,” said Stephan Oberholz, chairman of the DFB sports court: “We need adequate time to conduct consultations. Only then can we make a viable decision. ” Oberholz had previously tried to settle “the whole thing” amicably behind closed doors. “But that failed,” he explained.
The HSV Croatian defender now has to wait a maximum of two weeks for a verdict. He can hope for an acquittal, but also has to fear a four-year ban.
Vuskovic wishes an end to the “nightmare”
The defense had demanded an acquittal, and Vuskovic himself was very emotional in the closing speech. “I’m innocent,” said the 21-year-old player from second division soccer team Hamburger SV with tears: “I’ve never cheated in sport and never will. What I and my family have had to go through in the last few months, I would mean worst enemy. Every day I wish for this nightmare to end.” He fears “that tomorrow it can hit another athlete”.
“No evidence of systematic doping”
He “considered the doping allegation to be proven without any problems,” stated Anton Nachreiner, chairman of the DFB control committee. Although he called for the four-year ban that is actually intended for such cases, he said he would not “object to a mitigation” of the sentence. “We have no evidence of systematic doping,” said Nachreiner: “The objective must not be to destroy people and force them to end their careers prematurely.”
Vuskovic has been suspended since November 15
In a doping sample taken by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on September 16, 2022, exogenous erythropoietin (Epo) was detected in Vuskovic. This is a prohibited so-called “non-specific substance”. That’s why the DFB sports court temporarily banned him on November 15 as part of an injunction, and he’s not allowed to train with the team either. The analysis of the B sample confirmed the result of the A sample in mid-December.
In the course of the case, a fundamental dispute about the EPO analysis of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had developed. At the beginning of the four-hour hearing, Oberholz let it be known that from his point of view the cause was scientifically “written out”. “It threatens to become a never-ending story,” he said in view of the many reports.
Controversy erupted among experts
In view of the disagreement among the experts, Oberholz had recently appointed Jean-Francois Naud as an independent expert. The Canadian was not included in the hearing as expected, but Oberholz reported on his findings: According to this, the evaluation of the Vuskovic sample in the doping laboratory in Kreischa was correct. However, Naud sits at WADA with Kreischa’s laboratory manager Sven Voss in the working group for Epo. The sports court had previously rejected an application for bias by the Vuskovic lawyers.
Four experts hired by HSV had unanimously questioned the positive result of the WADA-accredited analysis laboratory in Kreischa as “false positive”. Lorenz Hofbauer, a defense advisor and professor at the Dresden University Hospital, once again mentioned various points of criticism of the EPO analysis process on Friday. The poor selectivity in the tests between endogenous and exogenous EPO is “fundamental”.
Laboratory head Voss, on the other hand, assured the NDR interview that Vuskovic’s sample looked exactly “as a positive sample should look”. He also doubts the expertise of the “Vuskovic experts”: “None of the counter-experts is a specialist in EPO doping analysis, especially from the urine.”
The public prosecutor’s office is also investigating
Should Vuskovic be convicted, he could, on the other hand, go before the DFB Federal Court. If there is an acquittal, WADA and NADA would have the opportunity to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). In addition to the sporting proceedings, the public prosecutor’s office is investigating Vuskovic on the basis of the anti-doping law.
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sports club | 03/19/2023 | 10:50 p.m
