Related case:
CAS 2012_A_2759 Oleksandr Rybka vs UEFA
July 11, 2012
In January 2012 the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Player Oleksandr Rybka after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance furosemide.
A two years ban was issued against the player by the UEFA on 27 January 2012 and appealed and rejected on 16 March 2012 by the UEFA Appeals Body. Hereafte the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Panel confirmed the UEFA pronouncement in an award of 18 May 2012 and again the Athlete’s appeal was dismissed by by the Swiss Federal Court on 21 March 2013.
The Swiss Federal Court’s opinion in this case:
1.) The Federal Court repeated that the “right to be heard” (due process) does not encompass the right to an award that is accurate as to the merits of the case. In other words, arbitrators can get it wrong - they did not get it wrong in this case – without violating the right to be heard.
2.) The presumption generally used in such matters, namely that once the presence of a prohibited substance has been found, it behooves the athlete to explain why this should not be a doping violation, is consistent with public policy as understood in Swiss international arbitration case law.
