There was no lack of support, and everyone was there again on Friday afternoon. His advisor Damir Smoljan is in the front row, right next to his mother, and Jonas Boldt, the head of sports at Hamburger SV, is in the back. At his side are his three lawyers and an interpreter, who translates into Croatian the scientific debates that are being held in the “Golden Goal” room on the DFB campus in Frankfurt. Not an easy task, because: How are laypeople supposed to follow?
HSV defender Mario Vuskovic has been accused of suspected epo doping since last autumn, but listens carefully to what is said at all times. But the 21-year-old knows: support, all well and good. Ultimately, another person here at the DFB sports court decides how his professional career will continue – and whether it will continue: the presiding judge Stephan Oberholz, a gaunt man with glasses, who, on the three days of the hearing, with a hard hand and sometimes with dry humor through the process leads.
At 5 p.m. he then announces: There is no verdict for the time being, this will be submitted in writing in two weeks at the latest. The reason: the court wanted to consult again, in great detail, as Oberholz explained. There is just too much at stake to rush things. Previously, the parties had not been able to agree on a consensual decision.
For Wada, it’s about the integrity of their epo analytics
It is indeed a lot. Not only for Vuskovic, who bursts into tears while delivering his closing argument and once again protesting his innocence. The case also has sport-political implications that can have devastating consequences for the World Doping Agency Wada and its multi-million dollar apparatus of laboratories and specialists. The integrity of their entire Epo analytics is also being negotiated.
The focus is particularly on Judge Oberholz, who may have maneuvered himself into a legal impasse. On the second day of the hearing, he had commissioned the Canadian epo researcher Jean-Francois Naud to provide another expert opinion on the work of the laboratory responsible for the A and B samples in Kreischa. Naud confirmed the correctness of the colleagues with whom he sits, ironically, on an eight-member committee that advises Wada on epo issues. However, he did not deliver the report he had ordered – and thus only fulfilled half of his work assignment.
Judge Stefan Oberholz must assess whether the evidence is sufficient for a guilty verdict. Should Mario Vuskovic be convicted, he could go before the DFB Federal Court.
(Photo: Arne Dedert/dpa)
The Vuskovic party criticized this massively on Wednesday and even formulated the accusation of thwarting the evidence. Oberholz replied quite succinctly that the sample is now with Wada, and since their regulations do not provide for any further expert opinion, nothing can be done at the moment – or should one break into their premises and get the material? The defense responded that such steps were not necessary. Criminal proceedings are still pending at the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office, and if necessary they will obtain the urine: Wada, Wada.
Even the prosecution admits weaknesses in the analytical methods used
On the second day of the hearing, Oberholz said: “If scientists disagree about the assessment of images, that exceeds the expertise and expertise of the court.” From day one, the process has also been a kind of scholarly dispute. On the one hand there is the Kreischa laboratory, which is convinced that Vuskovic injected Epo to improve performance. On the other hand, Vuskovic and HSV, who oppose this with commissioned reports from Norway, Canada, Dresden and Leipzig.
The core of the dispute is the so-called Sar-Page procedure, which Wada uses as an EPO test method. This is not based on clear measured values, such as the alcohol content. Images are interpreted on which small, black spots either cast a delicate shadow (positive) or not (negative). On Friday, one of the experts appointed by the defense localized the scientific status of this analysis method “in the last millennium”. Even the prosecution has to concede that the method, while not perfect, is the least bad on the market – which is why it is the only way to convict EPO sinners at all.
Judge Oberholz must now assess whether the evidence is sufficient for a guilty verdict. Should Vuskovic be convicted, he could go before the DFB Federal Court. In any case, the defense demands acquittal, Wada would in all probability appeal to the Supreme Sports Court (Cas).