In January 2020 the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Colombian tennis player Robert Farah after his A and B samples - collected out-of-competition at his mothers house in Cali, Columbia - tested positive for the prohibited substance Boldenone in a low concentration (1,8 ng/mL). After notification the Athlete accepted the test results, waived his right for a hearing, accepted the provisional suspension and the sanction proposed by the ITF.
The Athlete asserted that the Boldenone found in his system came from beef that he ate the night before the samples were collected, which he says contained residue of Boldenone injected into the cow as a growth promoter prior to slaughter. He insists that he did not intend to cheat, and that he did not engage in conduct that he knew constituted an anti-doping rule violation, nor did he know that there was a significant risk that eating the beef might constitute or result in an anti-doping rule violation.
Further the Athlete provided evidence to support his contention of meat contamination as the source of his positive test:
- The Supermarket where the beef was purchased;
- The source and distribution of the meat products from a meat processing plan and ultimately from one of 15 cattle ranches located in northern Columbia;
- The authorized distribution, sale and use of Boldenone in Columbia to fatten cattle;
- 59 Boldenone products available for sale in Columbia and their use in livestock farming as a growth promoter prior to slaughter;
- The use of Boldenone by the 15 cattle ranches in question in their cattle to increase their meat mass;
- The lack of a legal restrictions in Columbia to ensure that Boldenone concentration levels in beef sold for human consumption remain below a certain level;
- Expert report studies that confirmed the widespread use of Boldenone in cattle in Colombia and the presence of this substance in beef due to the practice of sending cattle to the slaughter house prior to the 30-day withdrawal time for veterinary drugs.
In view of the evidence in this case the ITF accepts that the Athlete has shown that his ingestion of Boldenone on 17 October 2019 was not intentional, in that he did not know that the beef that his mother cooked and served him that evening contained Boldenone, and nor were there any red flags that meant he knew there was a risk that it might contain Boldenone, and manifestly disregarded that risk. He has therefore established that he did not intend to cheat, and that his commission of the violation was not 'intentional'.
In addition the ITF considers the following facts:
1.) The ITF is not aware of any prior case in which it was accepted that Boldenone found in an athlete's sample came from meat farmed in Colombia.
2.) In fact, the ITF is only aware of one prior case where it was accepted that Boldenone found in an athlete's sample came from meat, and in that case the meat was farmed in Mexico.
3.) WADA has never issued any warning that meat farmed in Colombia might contain prohibited substances. In fact, the meat contamination notice issued by WADA in May 2019 only refers to the possibility that meat farmed in Mexico, China, or Guatemala might contain Clenbuterol.
4.) Although the Colombian Olympic Committee issued a warning to athletes in November 2018 regarding the widespread use of Boldenone in cattle farming in Columbia, the ITF accepts that the Athlete did not see this issued notice because he does not live in Colombia and is constanly traveling the globe on the professional tennis circuit.
On that basis, the ITF accepts that the Athlete bears No Fault or Negligence for the presence of exogenous Boldenone and Boldenone metabolite in his sample. It notes that this finding is consistent with other decisions where meat was accepted as the source of the positive test.
Therefore the ITF decides on 10 February 2020 to lift the provisional suspension with immediate effect and not to impose a period of ineligibility on the Athlete. Because the Athlete bear No Fault or Negligence the ITF decides not to disqualify the Athlete’s results obtained in the period between the sample collection until the date of the provisional suspension.
