Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana has been hit with a one-year doping ban after failing an out-of-competition drugs test, which he claims came after he accidentally took his wife's medicine.
The 24-year-old, who was heavily linked with Chelsea last summer, was tested in October 2020 when Furosemide was found in his urine, resulting in the 12-month ban from UEFA.
The ban runs from 5 February and applies to all football, ruling him out of action for club Ajax and country Cameroon, however, the Dutch side will be appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Ajax looked to clarify the situation with a statement, which read: 'On the morning of October 30, Onana was feeling unwell. He wanted to take a pill to ease the discomfort. Unknowingly, however, he took Lasimac, a drug that his wife had previously been prescribed.
'Onana's confusion resulted in him mistakenly taking his wife's medicine, ultimately causing this measure to be taken by UEFA against the goalkeeper.
'Furthermore, the disciplinary body of the football association has stated that Onana had no intention of cheating. However, the European Football Association believes, on the basis of the applicable anti-doping rules, that an athlete has a duty at all times to ensure that no banned substances enter the body.'
Edwin van der Sar, Ajax's managing director added: 'We explicitly renounce performance-enhancing drugs, we obviously stand for a clean sport.
'This is a terrible setback, for Andre himself but certainly also for us as a club. Andre is a top goalkeeper, who has proven his worth for Ajax for years and is very popular with the fans.
'We had hoped for a conditional suspension or for a suspension much shorter than these 12 months, because it was arguably not intended to strengthen his body and thus improve his performance.'
Ajax are left with veteran 38-year-old Maarten Stekelenburg or 21-year-old Kjell Scherpen in goal, with Onana set to be a significant loss.
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