Eremenko doping ban upheld by CAS

CSKA Moscow’s Roman Eremenko’s two-year doping ban has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Finland international Eremenko was banned last November after he tested positive for cocaine and its metabolites following a 2-2 Champions League draw against Bayer Leverkusen on September 14, in which he scored the equaliser.

And his appeal was rejected by CAS on Friday, meaning Eremenko will remain suspended until October 5 2018. He will be 31 when his ban expires.

A CAS statement read: “The CAS Panel found that a two-year period of ineligibility was the appropriate sanction and since the UEFA AB decision did not specify the date of commencement of the suspension, found it proper to clarify the point and modify the UEFA AB decision accordingly, in order to confirm that the Player is suspended for a period of 2 years from 6 October 2016.”

Capped 73 times by Finland, Eremenko joined CSKA from Rubin Kazan in 2014 and helped them to the Russian Premier League title in 2016.