TAS 2017/A/4999 Pierre-Yves Garnier c. International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)
Related case:
IAAF 2017 IAAF vs Nick Davies, Jane Boulter-Davies & Pierre-Yves Garnier
January 31, 2017
On 1 November 2015, president of the IAAF Lamine Diack and several other top IAAF officials were arrested in France and under investigation over allegations that he took payments for deferring sanctions against Russian drugs cheats. Previously the IOC conducted an investigation into claims that Lamine Diack as IOC member had received bribes. The IOC provisionally suspended Diack on 10 November 2015 and he resigned on the following day.
In January 2016, Part 2 of the report of the World Anti-Doping Agency's Independent Commission investigation is published into doping, which also includes examination of the criminal side of the inquiry.
The Report notes that Diack, his sons and a friend created a group responsible for organizing and enabling conspiracy and corruption within the IAAF. He sanctioned and appears to have had personal knowledge of the fraud and the extortion of athletes carried out by the actions of the informal illegitimate governance structure he put in place.
Mr Pierre-Yves Garnier is an employee of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and subject of an IAAF investigation concerning suspected breaches of the IAAF Code of Ethics. Pending the investigation about his involvement in the mentioned conspiracy and corruption within the IAAF an provisional suspension was ordered on 10 July 2017.
The IAAF filed the following charges against Mr Garnier:
- a) That Mr Garnier received an undisclosed cash payment in 2013 at the direction of the IAAF’s former President Lamine Diack, the circumstances and non-disclosure of which raise the question whether the payment was intended to have and/or in fact produced any manipulative effect; and
- (b) retained some part of the sum even when aware of its apparent impropriety.
The IAAF investigations showed that Dr Garnier was at the forefront of the battle to force the Russian Athletics Federation to take the necessary steps to prevent athletes who had failed doping controls from participating in athletics competitions and Dr Garnier was unaware at the time of the serious corruption exposed in the Ethics Board’s decision in the Shobukhova affair.
However, Dr Garnier’s explanations as to the purpose of the sums and the way in which he was entitled to and did in fact divide the sum were not clear and he failed during IAAF investigations to provide clear explanations and to answer questions fully.
Therefore considering the allegations, the circumstances and the admissions the IAAF Ethics Board Panel decided on 31 January 2017 to impose a 3 month period of ineligibility on Mr Garnier, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, and to pay a contribution to the costs of the proceedings.
Hereafter in February 2017 Mr Garnier appealed the IAAF decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He requested the Panel to set aside the IAAF decision of 31 January 2017.
The Panel determines that Mr. Garnier was never blamed for corruption and he was committed to the fight against doping. The cash payment he received was intended to cover the expenses for organizing an event unrelated to the suspicions regarding Mr. Diack.
The appropriation of this money by Mr. Garnier is not relevant when it is received in good faith and exclusively used for the organization of an event unrelated to his function within the IAAF. The Panel therefore concludes that there has been no violation of Article D(11) of the IAAF Code of Ethics.
The Panel deems that Mr. Garnier should have fully cooperated with the IAAF investigation in order to enable the investigator Sir Hooper to obtain all the facts he considered relevant for his report. However, the Panel notes that Mr. Garnier's only partially refused to cooperate.
He responded to the vast majority of Sir Hooper's questions and he explained to the Ethics Board the appropriation of the payment he had received. The Panel considers that Mr. Garnier's partial refusal to cooperate is partially excused by the difficult personal circumstances he suffered at the time of the IAAF investigation.
Therefore the Court of Arbitration for Sport decides on 12 September 2017 that:
1.) The appeal filed by Pierre-Yves Garnier on 20 February 2017 against the decision rendered on 31 January 2017 by the IAAF Ethics Board is partially upheld.
2.) The decision of 31 January 2017 is modified and
- (i) established that Pierre-Yves Garnier has not violated Article D(11) of the IAAF Code of Ethics in force from 1 May 2012;
- (ii) The imposed 3 month period of ineligibility is canceled.
- (iii) The conviction of Pierre-Yves Garnier to contribute 2,500 euro as to the costs of the proceedings of the IAAF Ethics Board is canceled.
3.) The IAAF is ordered to publish this Award on the website of the IAAF Ethics Board and on the IAAF website.
4.) This award is pronounced without costs, except for the Court Office fee of one thousand Swiss Francs (CHF 1,000), which was paid by Pierre-Yves Garnier and is retained by the CAS.
5.) The IAAF is ordered to pay to Pierre-Yves Garnier to pay a contribution of 4,000 CHF.
6.) Any other conclusion is rejected.
