UEFA to consider Russian footballer Eremenko’s appeal on March 2

Moscow, Jan 25: The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) will on March 2 consider an appeal by CSKA Moscow midfielder and Finland international Roman Eremenko against his two-year competitions ban for use of cocaine, the organisations press service has said.

In mid-November, UEFA handed down a two-year suspension to Eremenko beginning from October 6, 2016 and until October 5, 2018 over the use of cocaine, reports Tass.

The move followed the positive result of a doping control test in competition undergone by the player after the UEFA Champions League group stage match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow played on September 14, 2016 in Germany.

The analysis of the player's A sample revealed the presence of cocaine and its metabolites – a stimulant that is classified under the category of prohibited substances in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2016 Prohibited List under class S6 – being prohibited in competition.

Eremenko has been playing for FC CSKA since 2014.