In December 2022 the Royal Dutch Billiards Federation (KNBB) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Belgian billiard player after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Mesterolone.
Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Person filed a statement in his defence and waived his right for a hearing. The case was settled by the ISR-KNBB Disciplinary Committee based on the written submissions of the parties.
The Person admitted the violation, accepted the test result en denied the intentional use of the substance. He recognized his fault and asserted that he had cooperated with the proceedings.
With evidence he demonstrated that the substance was used as medication to fulfil his desire to have children. Eight years ago for his first attempt to have childeren the Mesterone had also been used as prescribed medication.
Because prior he had been unware that the substance was prohibited the Person thereupon made an application for a retrospective TUE after the positive test. However this TUE application was rejected by NADO Flanders.
The Doping Authority Netherlands accepted that the Person's violation was not intentional and deemed that there are no grounds for a further reduced sanction.
The Doping Authority acknowledged that in August 2022 the KNBB and the Person not had been timely notified about the positive test. Because of this failure it proposed to start the Person's sanction on 6 August 2022.
The Disciplinary Committee finds that the presence of a prohibited substance has been established in the Person's sample and accordingly that he committed an anti-doping rule violation.
The Committee determines that the Person's anti-doping rule violation was not intentional and that he had demonstrated how the substance had entered his system. However the Committee establishes that the Person had failed to check his medication, it was also used unprescribed and his retrospective TUE application was dismissed by NADO Flanders.
The Committee agrees that the imposed sanction can start backdated on 6 August 2022 because the KNBB could have ordered timely a provisional suspension on that date. However the KNBB, nor the Person, had been notified timely on that date by the Doping Autoritiy about the positive test.
Therefore the ISR-KNBB Disciplinary Committee decides on 5 September 2023 to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Person, starting backdated on 6 August 2022, without disqualification of his results.
Fees and expenses for this committee shall be borne by the Person.
