Nikola Portner FREE and INNOCENT
Nikola Portner is free and innocent! The Swiss NT and SC Magdeburg goalkeeper was released from suspension by the HBL after two and a half months since he was tested positive on doping test.
Here is decision statement by German Handball Bundesliga:
The immediate suspension from playing and training in the Handball Bundesliga was necessary after an analysis result deviating from the norm during a competition test showed a small amount of methamphetamine in Nikola Portner’s urine. In such a case, the applicable rules stipulate a provisional suspension. In a court-ordered search of Nikola Portner’s apartment, no evidence was found that would allow conclusions to be drawn about methamphetamine consumption. The investigation carried out in this context was discontinued by the responsible public prosecutor’s office. Reports from independent and renowned doping experts obtained in the further proceedings confirmed that the amount of the prohibited substance found in the athlete’s body was so low that active ingestion and a performance-enhancing effect can be ruled out and that neither intentional nor negligent ingestion can be assumed. Rather, it is far more likely that contamination through no fault of his own via an alternative route that the athlete has plausibly explained is by far the most likely. This is also confirmed by the hair and urine samples provided. In addition, the athlete’s life story and his lifestyle, which were confirmed by many people who accompanied him, make the intentional consumption of doping substances seem very unlikely. Against this background, the HBL executive committee considers it highly likely that the athlete was neither intentional nor at fault. The responsible HBL committee has decided not to maintain the provisional suspension or ban the player. The decision of the executive committee of the Handball-Bundesliga e. V. was unanimous. Executive committee member Marc-Henrik Schmedt, managing director of SC Magdeburg and Nikola Portner’s employer, was not involved in the executive committee’s deliberations or decision-making, as was the case with the goalkeeper’s provisional suspension. The Handball-Bundesliga e. V. has committed itself to combating doping in accordance with its own statutes. This also includes the implementation of the anti-doping regulations of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the German Handball Federation and the International Handball Federation (IHF).
