Thu, November 27, 2025
Player from Norwegian football club failed drug test due to artificial pitch
A female player from Norwegian football club Vålerenga failed her drug test due to an artificial pitch, calling into question the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) policy on “strict liability,” as reported by The Guardian. The anonymous player ingested a banned stimulant, 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (DMBA), from the shredded tyre granulate, or rubber crumb, on the pitch in the LSK-Hall in Lillestrøm, Norway. DMBA stimulates the nervous system.
The player has now been cleared but told The Guardian that the experience was “terrible.” Eight players in total tested positive for the substance after their match on the pitch, four from each side. However, it was just the player from Vålerenga that exceeded WADA’s threshold of 50 ng/ml.
It has been a seven-month long process, but it has now concluded with WADA choosing not to appeal Anti-Doping Norway’s (Adno) decision that the player was not to blame. She told the news outlet that: “It was a very upsetting experience, and I couldn’t really understand what was going on.” Although she was permitted to play during the inquiry, she stated that her performance was impacted.
She also stated that, “the process and outcome feel somewhat arbitrary. If Adno had not been able to identify the granulate as the source, my situation would have been much more difficult. When you’re extremely careful, follow all the rules and still end up being drawn into a case like this, it shows how vulnerable you are as an athlete.”
The Norwegian Football Federation has suggested that indoor competitive matches should be played outdoors. The report states there are around 1,800 of these synthetic pitches in Norway and they exist in the UK too. The granulate will be banned from sale in the European Union from 2031, however. There is currently no regulatory strategy in place to ensure these pitches do not feature banned substances that will place athletes in danger of facing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.
In light of this case, Vålerenga has called for WADA’s strict liability rule which states: “It is not necessary that intent, fault, negligence or knowing use on the athlete’s part be demonstrated in order to establish an anti-doping violation,” to be reevaluated. It has been raised that the investigation into the turf may have only taken place because eight people tested positive.
The Vålerenga player also voiced: “Hopefully other athletes in a situation like mine will have stronger legal protection in the future. The rules as they are today can lead to an innocent athlete being suspended for years.”
