Shakhtar Donetsk told RIA Novosti on Monday that the club will appeal a two-year doping ban handed Monday to Olexandr Rybka on the grounds that the goalkeeper took diuretics out of competition.
European football's governing body handed the maximum penalty to the Ukraine international after he tested positive for a banned substance after a November league match against FC Karpaty, Shakhtar said.
The club's general director Sergei Palkin told RIA Novosti that Rybka had been taking diuretics for weight loss, and that he took them only after the match in question, meaning they could not have affected his performance.
"In the best-case scenario we want to annul this disqualification," Palkin said. "If not, we will try to shorten it as much as possible. ... Olexandr said himself that he took this substance. But we consider UEFA's decision to be wrong because he took it after the game. ... If he took it before the game it would be different," Palkin said.
Palkin said Shakhtar would retain the services of the 24-year-old goalkeeper, who had been in contention for a starting place at the summer's Euro 2012 tournament that Ukraine is co-hosting, even if the appeal is rejected.
UEFA did not immediately respond to requests for clarification.
