Dopingcase in German Football
There is a new doping case in Germany's professional football. Doping control officers found a cortisone substance in Francois Marque's blood. His club 1. FC Saarbrücken (third division) confirmed the positive test of the French player, says [German public TV ARD](http://www.sportschau.de/fussball/bundesliga3/marque100.html).
The forbidden substance was found after a game against RB Leipzig on November 30st. 31st. A- and B-sample were positive. German football federation DFB wants to deal with the case in a hearing next Monday.
According to ARD the positive sample was caused by a cortisone-containing ointment. Athletes need therapeutic use exemptions from a national doping agency to use these sort of creams. His club 1. FC Saarbrücken seems to think that the positive test is a form error. Maybe they reference to a missing use exemption.
Physicians use cortisone to treat pain and heal wounds. Athletes can use it for muscle gain and better regeneration – especially in combination with other substances. In the 70s and 80s cortisone was one of the most used doping products.
Defender Marque plays for Saarbrücken since mid-October. On October 25th Marque tore his muscle. The game against RB Leipzig, where he tested positive, was on November 31st. It was Marque’s second game after he came back from his injury.
Here you can find our timeline of all publicly known doping cases in German football: Timeline
Update: Jonathan Sachse will be talking tomorrow morning at 11am (Berlin time) in Sportradio360 [sorry, it will be in German].
We will follow up on this story in the next days.
