2 players from the CSKA Moscow team have been suspended ahead of the vital Champions League match with Besiktas JK2 over doping procedure irregularities.
The club said in a statement on Tuesday that the European governing body’s disciplinary committee suspended defenders Sergei Ignashevich and Alexei Berezutsky from the Besiktas game. It said the reason was that club doctors made an administrative error after CSKA’s match against Manchester United on Nov. 3.
“It’s shocking news for the players and the club,” the statement said.
The CSKA officials admitted that the club doctors had forgotten to inform UEFA of Sergei Ignashevich and Alexei Berezutsky taking the medicine Sudafed which is used for sever throat inflammation. Though the medicine is not in the band substances list, UEFA still expect clubs to inform them of the use of the substance when a player takes it.
The suspension of the 2 central defenders is a huge blow to the club which will be going on to play Besiktas on Tuesday 8th December. If CSKA win tonight and Wolfsberg cannot take any points from Manchester United , CSKA will be going on to the knock out stages of the champions league.
There was no immediate comment from UEFA. However UEFA have said on their site:
The chairman of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body today confirmed the provisional suspension with immediate effect from all domestic and UEFA friendly or competitive fixtures of the two players, Aleksei Berezutski and Sergei Ignashevich, from PFC CSKA Moskva.
United game
The two defenders underwent a random doping test after CSKA Moskva’s UEFA Champions League group stage match at Manchester United FC on 3 November. Both players’ A samples revealed the presence of a prohibited substance under the category “S6. Stimulants” from the WADA Prohibited List 2009. The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body will meet to discuss fully the merits of the case on Thursday 17 December, at its next meeting.
