In May 2022 United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) on behalf of the United Rugby Championship (URC) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Australian rugby player Junior Laloifi after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Cocaine.
Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the National Anti-Doping Panel.
The Athlete gave a prompt admission and denied the intentional use of the substance. He explained that he had used Cocaine in a nightclub out-of-competition in the night between 4 and 5 March 2022.
UKAD did not accept the Athlete's explanation and contended with his expert witness that the found concentration in his sample was to high to be consistent with his alleged moment of ingestion of Cocaine. Furthermore UKAD asserted that the Athlete had changed his testimonies about the moment of use of Cocaine prior to the sample collection.
In this case the Panel had sufficient doubts about the credibility of the Athlete's statements about his moment of use of Cocaine. Instead it had to rely on evidence filed by UKAD, the Athlete's evidence and witness statements.
In view of the evidence the Panel establishes that the Athlete did not, and had almost had no conceivable opportunity to, ingest Cocaine between 11:59 pm on 5 March 2022 and the sample collection on 6 March 2022.
The Panel considers that at the material time the Athlete's life was disordered and involved heavy consumption of alcohol. The Panel deems that his ingestion of Cocaine was clearly related to his irresponsible conduct and mental state rather than preparation for the rugby match
Therefore the Panel decides on 6 January 2023 to impose a 3 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 31 may 20222. The Athlete already has served this suspension.
