Croatian footballer Mario Vukovic's ban for doping extended to 4 yrs by CAS

Croatia Under-21 soccer player Mario Vukovic had his ban for doping doubled to four years on Tuesday in a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The German national anti-doping agency said it won an appeal jointly filed with the World Anti-Doping Agency to extend a two-year ban originally imposed by the German soccer federation on the Hamburger SV player who had tested positive for EPO.

At the soccer federation's original tribunal last year, its judge suggested Vukovic should get a less harsh sanction than four years because he was younger and would lose out financially.

Vukovic, a defender for second-tier HSV, is now banned from soccer through November 15, 2026. He will turn 25 the next day.

 

The club said in a statement that Vukovic and his lawyers will study the CAS verdict before it talks with the player about taking the next steps. The club did not state when his contract expires.

Vukovic tested positive in September 2022 for the blood-boosting hormone banned in sports that has been popular with endurance athletes in cycling and distance running.

The sample was taken in an out-of-competition doping control at the training grounds of his club, CAS said in a statement.

The German soccer federation tribunal ruled in March 2023 that a two-year ban was appropriate also because evidence did not point to the player being involved in a structured doping program.

WADA and its German affiliate appealed to CAS seeking a full four-year ban, which is allowed for in the anti-doping regulations of world soccer body FIFA. A two-day hearing held in May was unusual for a case at sports' highest court to be filmed and later broadcast in full.

CAS said its judges ruled that Vukovic did not submit any mitigating factors that could be taken into account to reduce the four-year period of ineligibility.

Vukovic first moved to 1983 European Cup winner Hamburg in 2021 from Hajduk Split after playing for Croatia at the Under-21 European Championship. Croatia lost in the quarterfinals to Spain.