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UEFA bans Roman Eremenko for cocaine

November 18, 2016

The Finnish international scored CSKA's equalizer in a Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen in September. He tested positive for cocaine after the match.

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Fußball UEFA Champions League Bayer 04 Leverkusen - PFK ZSKA Moskau
Image: Reuters/K. Pfaffenbach

Finland midfielder Roman Eremenko has been banned for two years after he tested positive for cocaine, UEFA announced in a statement issued on Friday.

Traces of cocaine, which is considered a stimulant and is therefore a banned substance, were found in a sample Eremenko gave after playing for CSKA Moscow in a Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen back in September.

Despite UEFA's ban, the result of that game, a 2-2 draw, will not be affected by Friday's ruling even though Eremenko scored CSKA's second goal, according to the Associated Press. The two-year ban is backdated to October 6, the date Eremenko was provisionally suspended and withdrawn from the Fininish national team's squad.

Russland Roman Eremenko von CSKA Moskau
Eremenko scored CSKA's second goal in LeverkusenImage: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Grimm

Born in Moscow, the 29-year-old Eremenko grew up in Finland and has represented the country 73 times, including in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. He won the Russian league title with CSKA last season and the Ukrainian title with Dynamo Kiev in 2009.

CSKA have said that they intended to appeal the ruling.
     

"The club together with the footballer are set to appeal this decision," the club said in a statement on their official website.

This month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport gave Algerian forward Youcef Belaili a two-year ban on appeal for cocaine after throwing out a previous four-year sanction on procedural grounds.

Eremenko's case follows a similar doping case last season, when Macedonian midfielder Arijan Ademi was banned for four years after a sample he gave after a game between Dinamo Zagreb and Arsenal tested positive.

CSKA is fourth in the Russian league and last in Champions League Group E behind Monaco, Leverkusen, and Tottenham.

hf/pfd (AP, dpa, AFP)