Aleksei Berezutski and Sergei Ignashevich have been handed one-match bans by UEFA
CSKA Moskva defenders Sergei Ignashevich and Aleksei Berezutski have each been banned for one match after found to have broken doping regulations at last month’s Champions League match against Manchester United, UEFA said on Thursday.
In a statement released today from the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body, the duo was said to have “failed to comply with the UEFA Anti-Doping Regulations” after participating in CSKA’s UEFA Champions League match against Manchester United on 3 November.
Because the players were provisionally suspended from all domestic and European matches prior to the Moskva club’s final group stage match against Beşiktaş on 8 December, the board has deemed that the punishment to both players has already been served. Both defenders have been reinstated to play, effective immediately.
In addition to the one-match suspensions that were handed out by the Control and Disciplinary Body, CSKA Moskva was fined €25,000 for not properly implementing the UEFA Anti-Doping Regulations.
Both the players and the club will have three days to file an appeal.
I don’t suppose we’ll see many “Oops, my bad,” posts from those that thought this a huge scandal?
Or, maybe the scandal is that UEFA wasn’t tough enough on what is obviously a major problem with CSKA, the RPL, UEFA, FIFA, and society?
I’m really unsure what the intergalactic federation will think of us. Perhaps we won’t get in?