Shortly before the cup finals, Nikola Portner, goalkeeper of SC Magdeburg, tested positive for crystal meth. An exception – or a symptom of a deeper problem?
The sporting dimension could hardly be greater, as Bennet Wiegert, the coach of the Magdeburg handball players, recently emphasized again in an interview with MDR. The German Cup final weekend taking place in Cologne is an event “unparalleled in handball terms”. SG Flensburg-Handewitt and MT Melsungen will contest a semi-final on Saturday, before that (4.10 p.m., ARD and Dyn) Magdeburg, currently second in the Bundesliga, will meet Füchse Berlin, the table leader. However, Wiegert now has to play this cracker without one of his most important players – because a doping test on goalkeeper Nikola Portner was positive, as the club announced on Wednesday evening.