Related case:
UKAD 2020 Ellis Richards vs UKAD - Appeal
May 5, 2021
After sample collection in August 2018 the rugby player Ellis Richards told his condition coach and his head coach that he had taken a sip of a pre-workout drink immediately before the test. When interviewed by United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) they could not remember exactly what substance the Athlete had named in this matter.
Analysis of the Athlete's sample in October 2018 revealed not the presence of any prohibited substances. The Athlete was interviewed by UKAD in November 2018 where he accepted that he had made an admission to the coaches of taking the prohibited substance Clenbuterol.
Consequently the Athlete was removed of the rugby team and hereafter in May 2019 the UKAD reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Athlete for the use of the prohibited substance Clenbuterol. After notification a provisional suspension was ordered and the Athlete was heard for the National Anti-Doping Panel.
The Athlete denied the use of Clenbuterol although he acknowledged that he made an admission about his use to his coaches. The Athlete asserted that he had used some tablets that he had found in the changing room of a gym. After having experienced chest pains and conducting some online research his speculative conclusion was that it must have been Clenbuterol.
UKAD contended that the Athlete had made a clear and unambiguous admission in this case which he has subsequently attempted to retract. As a result the reliability of the Athlete's initial admission against the reliability of the subsequent retraction needed to be considered by the Panel.
The Panel holds that the Athlete failed to demonstrate that the violation was not intentional. Also the Panel was troubled about the Athlete's "gym" explanation since he had retracted his 2 part admission and rather sought to rely upon a totally different version of events.
By contrast the Panel is willing to accept the statements of the coaches with their version of events. Also the Athlete had unequivocally confirmed to UKAD in his interview that Clenbuterol was the substance he admitted using to his coaches.
Therefore the National Anti-Doping Panel decides on 24 February 2020 to impose a 4 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 7 May 2019.
