Swiss national goalie Nikola Portner and SC Magdeburg were relieved after the German handball league acquitted him of doping. But now there are repercussions.
The German National Anti-Doping Agency (Nada) is taking the case of goalkeeper Nikola Portner's acquittal to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Despite a positive doping sample, the goalkeeper of SC Magdeburg and the Swiss national team was unanimously acquitted by the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) at the end of June.
Long uncertainty looms
However, the Nada does not agree with this verdict, as it has now announced. "The Nada sees a fundamental and trend-setting need for review and clarification with an international dimension in this case and is therefore appealing to the CAS," it said.
Portner tested positive for methamphetamines at the beginning of April. After weeks of proceedings, the HBL nevertheless decided in favor of an acquittal, among other things because "the amount of the banned substance detected in the athlete's body was so small that active ingestion and a performance-enhancing effect can be ruled out and that neither intentional nor culpable ingestion can be assumed," according to the league association.
Portner himself had always denied knowingly taking the drug. The league assumed contamination through no fault of his own.
However, the Nada's decision means that it is now unclear whether the 30-year-old Swiss could still face a ban. This means that Portner is facing even longer uncertainty.
