Handball
Portner doping scandal: League wants quick decision
Magdeburg goalkeeper Nikola Portner is facing a severe suspension. Photo
© Eroll Popova/dpa
Magdeburg goalkeeper Nikola Portner has submitted his statement on the positive doping tests on time. The Handball Bundesliga is aiming for a verdict this month.
In the doping scandal surrounding Magdeburg goalkeeper Nikola Portner, the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) will make a decision by June 30th if possible. The Swiss, who tested positive for methamphetamines, submitted an 80-page statement to the HBL, as the “Magdeburger Volksstimme” reported.
Legal advisor Andreas Thiel will examine these and then, together with the HBL, make a decision in the case of the 30-year-old Portner. Anything is possible, from an acquittal to a four-year ban.
“We know that there is pressure on the issue. We have a great interest in the player, the Nada and Mr Portner’s club knowing as quickly as possible so that everyone involved can plan,” HBL spokesman Oliver Lücke told the newspaper.
A and B samples positive
On April 10, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) announced that a positive A sample had been found during an in-competition test of the goalkeeper of Champions League winners SC Magdeburg. Methamphetamines were detected. Portner has been suspended since then.
The analysis of the B sample confirmed the result. At the end of April, the Magdeburg public prosecutor’s office closed the criminal investigation against Portner. However, this had no impact on the doping proceedings.
SCM lawyer Rainer Tarek Cherkeh had previously assured that the measured concentration was a fraction of a typical intake of this substance. “It is also impossible that a ‘normal’ amount of methamphetamine ever entered Nikola Portner’s body in the weeks and months before the relevant doping test,” Cherkeh said.