Ex-Leeds United man Pontus Jansson hit with a ban after doping control accusations
Pontus Jansson rejoined his boyhood club Malmo over the summer following his release from Brentford
Former Leeds United man Pontus Jansson has been hit with a suspension following an alleged incident with a doping control officer. The defender currently plays with trade with Malmo FF, his boyhood club, but he won’t feature in their next matches after being hit with a two-match ban.
The punishment relates to accusations that Jansson spoke in an insulting and inappropriate way to a member of doping control and disobeyed instructions when selected for drug testing after a match. Malmo appealed the decision, insisting parts of the incident were not correctly described.
However, the suspension has been upheld, ruling the ex-Leeds man out of tonight’s clash with Brommapojkarna and the following clash with Kalmar FF next weekend.
In a statement released on Malmo’s website, sports manager Daniel Andersson expressed his disappointment with the decision: “Over the years, we have been involved in a lot of doping controls that have been carried out without problems.
“The organization this time was a little different than we are used to and some misunderstandings arose which we believe could have been avoided with more clarity and better leadership on the part of the controllers. Having said that, we in Malmö FF could and should have acted in a much better way. And we think the same applies to those who were responsible for the control.
“Although it is remarkable and unfortunate that it takes ten weeks between the incident and the decision on possible punishment, we have now left our image without being heard, the verdict is set and we just have to comply. We have important matches left to win this year and have shown many times how strong we are when supporters, teams and association together gather strength for success.”
Jansson has represented Malmo since parting ways with Premier League club Brentford at the end of last season. The 32-year-old has made 11 appearances for the Allsvenskan outfit with his first goal back at the club coming against Halmstads in August.
