CAS increases doping ban against HSV professional Vuskovic to four years | NDR.de – Sport

The 22-year-old was unable to present “any mitigating circumstances” that “could have been used to reduce the four-year ban,” according to the CAS. The panel therefore concluded that “there is no reason to deviate from the application of FIFA rules,” which stipulate a four-year ban.

Vuskovic and his lawyers are reviewing the verdict

Vuskovic and his lawyers will now examine the “extensive written verdict received,” HSV announced. This will take some time. Afterwards, HSV and Vuskovic will “enter into internal discussion, assess the new situation and then discuss how to proceed.”

The Croatian can still appeal to the Swiss Federal Court, but this seems hopeless because this court would only intervene if there had been procedural errors before the CAS.

Initially two-year ban by the DFB

In an initial hearing before the sports court of the German Football Association (DFB) on March 30, 2023, Vuskovic was only banned for two years. Several parties had appealed against this: HSV and Vuskovic wanted an acquittal. NADA also appealed to CAS. It demanded the usual four-year ban for athletes convicted of doping.

This was now imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, where a two-day hearing on the case took place in May of this year.

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Return at the earliest at the end of 2026

HSV defender Vuskovic tested positive for the doping agent EPO during a training test by NADA on September 16, 2022. The B sample confirmed the result. The Croatian was then provisionally banned on November 15, 2022. This date is also decisive for the four-year ban that has now been imposed. This means that the 22-year-old will not be allowed to play professional football again until November 15, 2026 at the earliest.

Kuntz informs HSV players

For Vuskovic, who came from Hajduk Split in 2021, the verdict is a personal catastrophe. For HSV, the ban represents a setback in its personnel planning, as coach Steffen Baumgart had actually planned to sign the defender.

Now those in charge, including managing director Stefan Kuntz, have until Friday evening to find a replacement for Vuskovic. That is when the transfer period ends. The HSV pros heard the bad news on Tuesday morning after training. Managing director Stefan Kuntz informed the players, who then went to the dressing room visibly shocked.

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