Matildas defender Aivi Luik is protesting her innocence after revealing she has been banned for three months for a doping violation.
Luik believes she has mistakenly been suspended by Italian anti-doping authorities in a charge stemming from her time at Serie A club Pomigliano.
Luik, who left the Italian club in 2022 to join Sweden’s BK Hacken, withdrew from Australian selection before the Paris Olympics.
At the time, the 39-year-old’s withdrawal from Matildas contention was blamed on a hamstring injury.
In fact, Luik was told by Italian authorities in April she had been banned for three months because of a doping breach.
“I still can’t believe I’m in the middle of this and I truly believe a mistake has been made,” Luik wrote on Instagram on Thursday.
“I hope to be able to continue the fight to appeal this ruling and prove my innocence.”
The doping charge came after Luik was sent by Pomigliano to a specialist for treatment on a back injury in March 2022.
On March 29 that year, a doctor gave her a painkilling injection containing a substance prohibited in competition under the World Anti-Doping Code, essentially meaning it’s banned on match days.
Pomigliano reportedly sought an incorrect exemption certificate from Italy’s anti-doping agency, which the club believed would have cleared her to play.
Luik was an unused substitute in an April 2 game, after which Italy’s anti-doping body Nado Italia rejected the club’s exemption application.
The Australian was stood down by Pomigliano for the last three games of the season – her contract expired and she moved to Sweden.
Luik, who played at the Tokyo Olympics of 2021 and featured in the Matildas’ World Cup squad last year, lost her case before an Italian anti-doping tribunal.
She is considering an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Luik, who has 48 Australian caps, withdrew from contention for the Matildas squad for this year’s Olympics in fear of her case becoming a distraction during the Paris Games.
“I just knew that, first of all, as much as I tried I wouldn’t be able to train at my best and be 100 per cent, which is what is needed from every single athlete in the team,” she told the Sports Ambassador podcast released on Thursday.
“Moreso than that, I was terrified at the thought of this affecting the team because we had a really great chance going into that tournament to do well and medal finally.
“I was just so scared of the thought that maybe something like this comes out during the Olympic tournament and what that would do for the girls and the team in general … how it would take the focus off them and probably negatively affect their performance.
“There was no way I could do that. I had to … pull my name from selection.”
Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) said Luik had been in “constant contact” with the organisation during the saga.
“We will continue to ensure she is supported with the full resources of the players’ association,” the PFA said in a statement.
“Aivi’s case further highlights the need to establish an anti-doping system that respects the fundamental rights of athletes and is effective in pursuing its stated objectives.”
