Removed from European competitions due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, CSKA Moscow leads the VTB and this Thursday they defeated RUNA Moscow 89-79 with 22 points from Casper Ware.
The great protagonist of the day in Russian sports and at the same time The big absentee from the party was Nikita Kurbanov. Just a few hours earlier it had emerged that the Russian Anti-Dopoage Agency (RUSADA) suspended the ‘Armeitsi’ power forward for three months for testing positive for cocaine.
He is not the first athlete to make this unforgivable mistake, something that already happened to him in his day to the late Diego Armando Maradona, to goalkeeper René Higuita, the tennis player Mats Wilander, the cyclist Tom Boonen, the former Madrid basketball player Kaspars Kambala or the tennis player Martina Hingis. Or the American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who was deprived of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by testing positive for marijuana.
In fact, The positive dates back to last October and Kurbanov has been inactive until now, when it has finally emerged that the reason for his absence from the tracks was cocaine and the subsequent suspension of RUSADA.
Now those three months have passed and in principle the three-time Euroleague champion could return to the team, but his future is not at all clear as the club itself has assured.
“We have already seen the official document and now we need time to discuss its situation within the club, with sponsors and with interested parties. Then we will make a considered decision about Nikita’s future at CSKA,” explained president Andrei Vatutin.
Kurbanov, in the Palace defending Ronald Smits / DAVID RAMÍREZ
At the same time, the Moscow club wanted to break ground in favor of its captain. “We would like to point out that Nikita has been and continues to be a role model during his impressive career. His colleagues always highlighted his work ethic. work, professionalism and desire to do everything possible to win”added the note.
In parallel, the player has issued a statement apologizing and appealing for understanding. “Respected CSKA fans, teammates, staff, collaborators… I apologize for what happened. Obviously I’m not proud from this and I have learned a very important lesson. “I accept without hesitation the consequences of my actions,” commented the Russian.
Kurbanov, 37, won gold in the 2005 European Under-20 Championshipin addition to playing in the Eurobasket in 2009 and 2015. The ‘armeitsi’ has been in his fourth stage at CSKA since 2015 and has three Euroleagues (2006, 2016 and 2019), six VTB Leagues, six Russian Leagues and five Cups From Russia.
2024-01-18 21:09:17
#descent #hell #Russian #Kurbanov #CSKA
