Czech champions Viktoria Plzen yesterday dismissed charges by UEFA which said their defender David Bystron had failed a doping test after their Champions League tie at BATE Borisov in November.
“We immediately asked the UEFA doctors’ team for an analysis of a B sample,” Viktoria general manager Adolf Sadek said in a statement, reacting to a letter from European football’s governing body that the club had received at Christmas.
“We of course got in touch with the player at once, and he strictly ruled out any use of banned or unreported substances,” he added.
The club also said the vessels containing the samples were “treated in an absolutely non-standard way”, as they were left unsealed and unguarded.
Plzen finished third in the Champions League Group H, trailing Barcelona and Milan but clinching a spot in the Europa League play-offs against Bundesliga side Schalke in February.
The 29-year-old Bystron played all six Champions League games for Plzen, scoring a goal in the 2-2 home tie with Milan.