UEFA criticized for Andre Onana's doping ban: "One year is an eternity"

The Dutch Association of Professional Footballers has asked UEFA to review the sentence given to Ajax’s goalkeeper Onana.

Andre Onana was banned from all football competitions for a period of 12 months. UEFA sentenced the goalkeeper after his urine sample came backtesting for a banned substance last October. However, the 24-year-old claimed he took Furosemide by accident as it had been prescribed to his wife. In fact, Onana said he mistook the diuretic medicine for an aspirin.

Ajax stated that they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as they believe the sentence was unfair. The Dutch champions argued that Onana didn’t take the substance in order “to strengthen his body and thus improve his performance.”

Additionally, the Dutch Association of Professional Footballers has come out in support of the young goalkeeper. According to VVCS, the punishment is clearly disproportionate when compared to the ‘crime’.

“UEFA follows Onana’s defense that it was a mistake. That he took the wrong pill on October 30 to temper a headache. For that reason, he will not receive the ‘usual’ 4 years, but his sentence will be ‘limited’ to 1 year.

“However, one year is an eternity in the career of a professional football player… A career that is short anyway. The question is how can you just suspend a player for a year, if you are convinced yourself that there is a mistake?”

Thank you guys & @AFCAjax ❤️ https://t.co/nDLFWtXJhF
— Andre Onana (@AndreyOnana) February 10, 2021

VVCS wants UEFA to cancel Onana’s punishment.

The Dutch Association believes that no player should be sanctioned for actions that clearly have no effects on their performance. In fact, they argue that Onana had no intention of cheating. Moreover, VVCS warns that his career will be hugely impacted by this decision.

“The suspension in itself is disproportionate, but the idea that the player may not even train with the rest of the team during the suspension is completely incomprehensible. This injustice, which has no added value and leads to the unnecessary isolation of professional footballers, must also be urgently reversed.

“VVCS is hopeful that the punishment of André Onana will be canceled (or greatly reduced) by the CAS. But this case once again shows the need to restructure the rules.”