– The Abyss Advent Calendar opens doors every day that would otherwise remain closed. This time one of the best-known doping experts speaks about doping in football. But he is reluctant to talk about the most prominent case from 1. FC Nürnberg.
For a long time, former footballers such as Mehmet Scholl or the “Emperor” Franz Beckenbauer denied that doping made sense in their sport. Fritz Sörgel, one of the best-known anti-doping experts in Germany, has seen things differently for decades: “All the doping substances we know also make sense in football.”
For our Advent calendar of the true crime podcast “Abysses,” we look behind an otherwise closed door at the police and justice system every day in 24 episodes. In the current episode we talk about the topic of doping in football. The Heroldsberg doping expert Fritz Sörgel took the time to talk to us about the most important doping cases in German football.
He speaks briefly about the region's most likely case: Thomas Ziemer. The then 29-year-old FCN player tested positive for a banned substance in 1999. Ziemer still denies knowingly doping. The club's nutritionist at the time quickly came under suspicion. However, Thomas Ziemer was not given a 6-month ban.
The most recent case in German professional football is Mario Vušković from Hamburger SV. He was given a 4-year ban by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport for blood doping. Vušković also protests his innocence and is seeking an appeal.
Why are there so few doping cases in football? And why, according to Fritz Sörgel, are the bans often unfair compared to other sports? Answers to these questions can be found in the 21st episode of the Abyss Advent Calendar.
