Darijo Srna insists he “showed to the whole world that I’m not guilty” of doping, as he’s presented as a Cagliari player.
The right-back was given a six-month ban after tests showed adverse values of dehydroepiandrosterone in his system.
While the NADC accepted that Srna hadn’t intentionally taken the substance, stating that there was “no significant guilt or negligence on the part of the athlete”.
Darijo Srna insists he “showed to the whole world that I’m not guilty” of doping, as he’s presented as a Cagliari player.
The right-back was given a six-month ban after tests showed adverse values of dehydroepiandrosterone in his system.
While the NADC accepted that Srna hadn’t intentionally taken the substance, stating that there was “no significant guilt or negligence on the part of the athlete”.
However, he was still given a 17-month ban which was backdated to the time of the positive test, despite Srna continuing to play from that date until after a game against Napoli in September last year.
“The situation is simple, I’ve shown to the whole world that I’m not guilty,” Srna insisted in his presentation today.
“It was part of my life and it was difficult, but I’m a fighter and I’ve shown that by breaking records with Shakhtar and the Croatian national team.
“If I didn’t believe in myself I wouldn’t be sitting here now. I’ll be able to start playing from August 22, and during this period I’ve been training on my own, even in the Ukrainian off-season.
“I’ve had a personal trainer and an athletic trainer for nine years, and I’m ready to get started.”