CAS 2010/A/2245 Andrey Plotniy v. International Tennis Federation (ITF)
Related case:
ITF 2010 ITF vs Andrei Plotniy
September 20, 2010
- Tennis
- Doping (carphedon)
- Applicable standard in respect of the definition of “No Significant Fault or Negligence”
- Additional sanction
1. Only where the departure of the athlete from the required conduct under the duty of utmost care was not significant, the sanctioning body may apply “No Significant Fault or Negligence” and depart from the standard sanction.
2. The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme envisages that any reduced sanction would run concurrently with the original sanction imposed, as any other interpretation of the rules could result in players having a lengthy sentence in effect reduced through breaching the sanction of ineligibility, in circumstances where they breached their sanction early in their period of ineligibility with No Significant Fault or Negligence, and therefore restarted a period of ineligibility now reduced by up to half.
On 9 March 2010 the Russian tennis player Andrey Plotniy admitted he had committed an anti-doping rule violation after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Fonturacetam (Carphedon). He signed an Acceptance of Sanction and a 15 month period of ineligibility was imposed, starting on 1 November 2009.
Hereafter in August 2010 the German Tennis Federation reported that the Athlete had participated in 5 tennis competitions in Germany. The Athlete acknowledged his participation in these 5 competitions and asserted that he was unaware he was ineligibile to participated in tennis competitions at a national level not hosted by the ITF or the WTA.
The ITF concluded that the Athlete failed to establish No Significant Fault of Negligence for breaching ineligibilty. Consequently the ITF decided on 20 September 2010 that the original 15 month period of ineligibility shall start again from the date of his last participation, i.e. 22 August 2010.
Hereafter the Athlete appealed the ITF Decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The Panel considered the particular circumstances of this case and establishes that the Athlete made, on his own admission, no enquiry into the nature and extent of his sanction other than asking his own representative. At the time he made that enquiry, he knew himself to be ineligible to play in international tournaments, and in the national Russian Championship.
The Panel accordingly upholds the ITF’s decision dated 20 September 2010 and dismisses the Appeal of the Athlete in its entirety. The present award is rendered by majority, pursuant to Article R59 of the Code.
Therefore the Court of Arbitration for Sport decides on 11 April 2011:
1.) The appeal filed on 7 October 2010 by Mr Andrey Plotniy is dismissed.
2.) The decision rendered by the ITF Anti-Doping Manager on 20 September 2010 is confirmed.
(…)
5.) All other prayers for relief are rejected.
