Serbian heavyweight boxer Emir Ahmatovic has been handed a four-year suspension by the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) after committing an anti-doping rule violation.
Following his fight against David Adeleye on June 9, 2023, which ended with Ahmatovic retiring in the fifth round, UKAD collected three urine samples. Analysis of these samples revealed an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for metandienone. Metandienone is classified as an anabolic androgenic steroid (section S1.1) on the 2023 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List and is banned at all times.
UKAD provisionally suspended Ahmatovic on August 9, 2023. Ahmatovic disputed the findings, asserting the AAF was potentially caused by deviations from WADA’s International Standard for Testing & Investigations (ISTI) or through the accidental consumption of contaminated food or supplements.
In an email dated August 18, 2023, Ahmatovic expressed surprise regarding the AAF, stating he could not explain the presence of the metandienone metabolite in his initial sample.
The case was subsequently referred to the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) and reviewed on October 18, 2024. The tribunal rejected Ahmatovic’s arguments and confirmed the four-year ban. The ban was backdated to the start of his provisional suspension, making it effective until August 8, 2027.
Ahmatovic lodged an appeal against the NADP’s decision. A separate NADP appeal tribunal reviewed the case on April 1, 2025. The appeal tribunal ultimately upheld the original findings and reaffirmed the four-year ban.
