According to multiple reports, eight players in the Toppserien had traces of the banned substance DMBA in doping tests taken after a match between LSK Kvinner and Vålerenga on April 22 last year. One of the eight players had values above the permitted limit. In November, the prosecution committee in Antidoping Norge concluded that the player would not be punished for the positive test.
The rubber granulate was identified as the source of the substance. Investigations revealed that the substance entered the players' bodies through the air they breathed, with everything indicating it relates to air quality. , granulate, ended up in the football players' bodies.
Secretary General Karl-Petter Løken, who is a chemist by education, explains that it is converted when it degenerates. Official responses and player reactions highlighted the shock, with Ragne Hagen Svastuen saying she has played many matches in the LSK hall and never thought that the air she breathed there could result in a positive doping test. Sarah Lilleberg Suphellen agrees with Svastuen.
Karl-Petter Løken described it as seeming almost completely absurd when this appeared. The case attracted attention, also outside Norway's borders. A number of actors were involved: Norges Fotballforbund, Antidoping Norge, Norges laboratorium for dopinganalyse, Folkehelseinstituttet, Norsk senter for vannforskning and the climate and environment institute NILU.
It is unknown what measures are being taken to prevent similar incidents in the future, such as changes to hall ventilation or granulate materials, and whether there are ongoing health risks for players or others exposed to similar indoor environments with rubber granulate.