CAS 2000/A/289 UCI vs C. & Fédération Française de Cyclisme
TAS 2000/A/289 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) /C. & Fédération Française de Cyclisme (FFC)
- Cycling
- Doping
- Confession of a rider
1. In accordance with the general principle of non-retroactivity, which is widely applied in criminal matters, the UCI Rules effective at the time of the anti-doping violation must be applied in order to determine the nature of the anti-doping violation and the sanctions as result of the same violation.
2. According to the principle of lex mitior, applied in criminal matters and the regulatory adopted by CAS in accordance with to the constant jurisprudence, the competent authority in charge of sanctioning must apply the new law, if this is more favourable for the accused, even when the violations occurred before these came into force. In addition, the principle of lex mitior can be applied to anti-doping rules in view of the quasi-criminal character of the disciplinary sanctions they are permitted to impose.
In April 2000 the French elite level Athlete C. mentioned in an interview with the French magazine his cycling experiences with doping for many years and the effect on the athlete’s health and the falsification of sport results.
He acknowledged that he had used EPO in 1996 when he became winner of the 1996 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. With his confession the athlete wanted to attract attention to the current and persistent phenomenon of doping in cycling.
As a consequence of his confession the Disciplinary Commission of the French Cycling Federation (FCC) decided on 28 June 2000 to impose a 1 year period ineligibility on the Athlete as suspended sanction, a CHF 4.000,- fine including disqualification of the 1996 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
Hereafter the International Cycling Union (UCI) appealed the FCC decision of 28 June 2000 with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The UCI requested the Panel to set aside the FCC decision and to impose an active sanction on the Athlete C.
The Panel considers the particular circumstances of this case and finds it appropriate to impose a 3 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete starting on the day of the hearing, i.e. on 24 November 2000.
Therefore the Court of Arbitration for Sport decides on 12 January 2001 to impose a 6 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete with 3 months as suspended sanction, including a CHF 4.000,- fine and disqualification of the 1996 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
