TAS 2009/A/2014 Agence Mondiale Antidopage (AMA) c. ASBL Royale Ligue Vélocipédique Belge (RLVB) & Iljo Keisse

CAS 2009/A/2014 WADA vs Iljo Keisse & Royale Ligue Vélocipédique Belge (RLVB)

The Athlete Iljo Keissen is a professional Belgian cyclist with an UCI licence.

In December 2008 the UCI reported an anti-doping rule violation aginst the Athlete after his A and B samples tested positive for the prohibited substance cathine (above the WADA threshold), chlorothiazide and hydrocholothiazide. However on 2 November 2009 the RLVB Disciplinary Commission decided not to impose a sanction on the Athlete. 

In first instance the RLVB Disciplinary Commission ruled that not had been established to their satisfaction that the concentration cathine had exceeded the threshold limit. Furthermore the Commission deemed that the Athlete had demonstrated how the other substances had entered his system and that he had acted with no fault or negligence

Hereafter in December 2009 WADA appealed the RLVB decision of 2 November 2009 with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Preliminary the Athlete had challenged the CAS jurisdiction and claimed that his ECHR rights were violated. However Panel determines that the Athlete’s rights had not been violated and therefore that there are no grounds for suspension of the proceedings.

The Athlete asserted that the product Sinnutab Forte he had used contained pseudoephedrine and had caused the positive test result for cathine. The other substances found in his sample were the result of supplement contamination in his ZMA capsules he had used.

Following assesment of the Athlete's conduct the Panel concludes that he failed to research the ingredients of his supplements before using and failed to demonstrate that he acted not intentionally.

Therefore on 6 July 2010 the Cour of Arbitration for Sport decides to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. 9 December 2008.

Facts
UK Anti-Doping Limited ("UKAD") charges Ben Payne ("player") for a violation of the Anti-Doping Rules. The prohibited substances, 19-norandrosterone and 19-noretiocholanolone, had been found in a urine sample provided by Mr Payne on 13 March 2010. The player indicated that he did not dispute the fact of the anti-doping rule violation but that he wished to put forward reasons why he should not be subjected to the usual 2 year suspension for such a violation. Unfortunately, the player did no more than say that he would explain to me at the hearing why this should be so. Eventually the player decides not to attend the oral hearing, but because everything was set it took place without the player.

History
The player explained that he had suffered severe facial injury during a game of hockey and, at the suggestion of a friend, had taken two substances called “Deca” and “Sustanon” in order to aid his recovery.

Conclusion
In summary the following decision has been made:
1. an anti-doping rule violation was committed by the player;
2. the period of ineligibility in his case is to be two years; and the period of ineligibility is to run from 8 a.m. on April 16, 2010 to 8 a.m. on April 16, 2012.

Appeal
Either UKAD or Mr Payne (or any of the organisations specified in Article 13.4.1 of the Rules) may appeal against this decision as set out in the preceding paragraph.

Positief na dopingcontrole door Vlaamse Overheid: 2009 / NADO Flanders. - Brussels : Flemish Government, 2010

Nederlandse tuchtrechtspraak en de toepassing van de World Anti-Doping Code / Steven Teitler, Herman Ram. - (Tijdschrift voor Sport & Recht (2010) 2 (Juli) : p. 57-70)

Nog niet zo lang geleden beschikten de tuchtcommissies over vrijwel onbeperkte bevoegdheden en mogelijkheden om dopingzaken af te handelen zoals het hen goed dunkte. Afgezien van enkele richtlijnen inzake de strafmaat voorzagen de dopingreglementen tot 2004 niet in tuchtrechtelijke voorschriften. De behandeling van een overtreding van het dopingreglement vond toen nog geheel plaats volgens de normen van het tuchtreglement, waar het dopingreglement tegenwoordig vrijwel op zichzelf staat. Veel dopingzaken kwamen toentertijd echter niet bij de tuchtcommissies terecht, vanwege het feit dat bondsbesturen die regelmatig onder de spreekwoordelijke pet hielden. In die gevallen volgde dus geen aangifte. De komst van de World Anti-Doping Code heeft voor zowel de vrijheid van de tuchtcolleges als die van bondsbesturen ingrijpende gevolgen gehad.

Inhoud:

1. Inleiding
2. Terugdringen rechtsongelijkheid en rechtsonzekerheid: voorgeschiedenis en instrumenten
2.1. Internationaal Olympisch Commité
2.2. WADA
2.3. Unesco
3. Gesloten systeem: bewijsvoering en sanctiestelsel
4. Auditcommissie Doping
5. Jurisprudentie sinds invoering Code (2004)
6. Bewijslast
7. Sanctiestelsel
8. Formele/procedurele eisen
9. Informatieplicht
10. Kennis & acceptatie
11. Samenvatting en conclusies
12. Consequenties/vooruitblik

Maltese Doping Cases / Claude Ramoni. – (International Sports Law Journal (2010) 3-4 : p. 178-181)

Content:
- Background facts
- Admissibility of the appeal
- Applicable Rules on the merit – FIFA or MFA regulations?
• Was the FIFA Disciplinary Code directly applicable?
• Did article 60 par. 2 of the FIFA Statutes compel the panel to apply FIFA regulations?
• Was the FIFA Disciplinary Code applicable by reference?
• Comment
- Sanctions
- Conclusion

At the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, three Maltese football players, Mattocks, Martin and Grech tested positive for prohibited substances and were suspended for 4 months (Mattocks), 9 months (Martin) and 12 months (Grech) by the Malta Football Association (MFA).
Both WADA and FIFA appealed all three decisions rendered by MFA. It seemed quite obvious to FIFA and WADA that the sanctions imposed by the MFA were not in line with the provisions of the then applicable FIFA Disciplinary Code (the 2007 FDC) or of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC). FIFA and WADA therefore were of the opinion that all three sanctions imposed by MFA were too lenient.

The effect of the appeals lodged by FIFA and WADA in the cases of the Maltese players was to allow the CAS to review decisions rendered in application of national Maltese rules, which do not provide for a right of appeal by FIFA or WADA... The panel partially upheld two out of the three appeals, imposing however, sanctions which are not in line with the FDC or the WADC. This (practical) result does not seem in line with the purpose of the appeal by FIFA and WADA in doping matters as provided for under the FIFA Statutes.

The Need for WADA to Address Confidentiality Leaks in Drug Testing in Olympic Sports – The Ian Thorpe Situation / John T. Wendt. – (International Sports Law Journal (2010) 3-4 : p. 47-54)

Content:
- Introduction
- Thorpe’s Accomplishments
- Thorpe as an Anti-Doping Crusader
- Ressiot and l’Equipe
- Reactions to the Leak and Accusation
- WADA and Confidentiality
- Thorpe and Ressiot
- FINA, ASADA and Thorpe
- Thorpe Sues Ressiot and L’Equipe
- Reforms and Need for Confidentiality
- Changes to the World Anti-Doping Code
- Conclusion
- References

Ian Thorpe is an Australian successful elite level swimmers.
Thorpe has also been one of the leading opponents of doping.
He was a founding athlete-member of the World Anti-Doping
Association’s (WADA) “Athlete’s Passport” Program and was one of the first to provide blood samples to be frozen for future testing in accordance with WADA’s new testing procedures (World Anti-
Doping Code Annual Report, 2002). But, that reputation was tarnished when someone leaked confidential information to Damien Ressiot, a journalist for the French newspaper, L’Equipe, who accused Thorpe of committing a doping offense. For Ian Thorpe, there were two volatile issues − first, the truth of the allegations, and second the breach of confidentiality of his personal records.

Confidentiality is at the heart of any drug testing program. Names should not be revealed, unless it is firmly and legally established that a doping offense has been committed. A breach of confidentiality and media leaks undermine the entire system. It is essential that there is confidentiality throughout the whole process until there is a finding that an individual has in fact committed a doping offense. This comment looks at the breach of confidentiality of Ian Thorpe’s records, and the need for WADA to act to remedy the problem.

Aaron L. Baggish, Rory B. Weiner, Gen Kanayama, James I. Hudson, Michael H. Picard, Adolph M. Hutter, Jr., and Harrison G. Pope, Jr.
Circ Heart Fail. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 January 1.
Published in final edited form as:
Circ Heart Fail. 2010 July 1; 3(4): 472–476.
Published online 2010 April 27. doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.109.931063

Background
Although illicit anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use is widespread, the cardiac effects of long-term AAS use remain inadequately characterized. We compared cardiac parameters in weightlifters reporting long-term AAS use to those in otherwise similar weightlifters without prior AAS exposure.

Methods & Results
We performed 2-dimensional, tissue-Doppler, and speckle-tracking echocardiography to assess left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV systolic strain, and conventional indices of diastolic function in long-term AAS users (n=12) and otherwise similar AAS non-users (n=7). AAS users (median [Q1,Q3] cumulative lifetime AAS exposure 468 [169–520] weeks) closely resembled non-users in age, prior duration of weightlifting, and current intensity of weight training. LV structural parameters were similar between the two groups. However, AAS users had significantly lower LV ejection fraction (50.6% [48.4, 53.6] versus 59.1% [58.0, 61.7]; p = 0.003 by Wilcoxon rank sum test, two-tailed); longitudinal strain (16.9% [14.0, 19.0] versus 21.0% [20.2, 22.9]; p = 0.004), and radial strain (38.3 [28.5, 43.7] versus 50.1 [44.3, 61.8]; p = 0.02). Ten of the 12 AAS users showed LV ejection fractions below the accepted limit of normal (≥55%). AAS users also demonstrated decreased diastolic function compared to non-users, as evidenced by a markedly lower E′ velocity (7.4 [6.8, 7.9] versus 9.9 [8.3, 10.5]; p = 0.005) and E/A ratio (0.93 [0.88, 1.39] versus 1.80 [1.48, 2.00]; p = 0.003).

Conclusions
Cardiac dysfunction in long-term AAS users appears more severe than previously reported, and may be sufficient to increase the risk of heart failure.

Related cases:
- ISR 2010 NRB Preliminary Decision Disciplinary Committee
2010076 TU
April, 15, 2010
- ISR 2011 NRB Decision Revision Committee 2010076 H
January 27, 2012

In March 2010 the Dutch Rugby Union (Nederlandse Rugby Bond, NRB) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Person after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance methylhexaneamine (dimethylpentylamine). After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Person filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the NRB Disciplinary Committee.

The Person stated that he trained at a professional fitness center and there he purchased the supplement NO Explode. He assumed that this supplement was contaminated with the prohibited substance in spite of his expectation that he had purchased clean supplements. He argued that without intention to enhance his performance he researched the ingredients of the supplement before using and that the prohibited substance wasn’t mentioned on the label.

The Person received the opportunity from the NRB Disciplinary Committee on 15 April 2010 to produce evidence of this contamination. Hereafter in June 2010 the Person and the Committee received the supplement analysis results from the accredited laboratory. The laboratory reported that the prohibited substance methylhexaneamine wasn’t found in the Person’s supplement. The Person assumed that other supplements he had used from his brother might have been contaminated as possible explanation.

Without proof how the prohibited substance entered his body the NRB Disciplinary Committee decides on 30 June 2010 to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Person starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 20 March 2010.

ANADO Legal Note 14
How to Improve the Impact of WADA Independent Observer Teams
The WADA Independent Observer (IO) program has been one of WADA’s most useful and successful. Born from the need to provide independent oversight and confirmation of the integrity and effectiveness of anti-doping at the Olympic Games, the program has evolved to provide “audit-style” missions which give on-the-spot feedback and recommendations. The IO program will continue to have important political significance within sport to enhance the profile of clean sport and to reassure participants, spectators and the media. IO teams will continue to be sent to certain major games even if not technically required (because of the competency of the organizing committee and the experience of its anti-doping personnel, for example). But to me, the potential for lasting operational improvement to the efficacy and efficiency of games-time anti-doping programs is the real promise of the program.

Biosimilar epoetins and other "follow-on" biologics : update on the European experiences / Wolfgang Jelkmann

• Hermatology 85 (2010) 10 (October), p. 771-780
• PMID: 20706990
• DOI: 10.1002/ajh.21805

Abstract

After the patents of biopharmaceuticals have expired, based on specific regulatory approval pathways copied products ("biosimilars" or "follow-on biologics") have been launched in the EU. This article summarizes experiences with hematopoietic medicines, namely the epoetins (two biosimilars traded under five different brand names) and the filgrastims (two biosimilars, six brand names). Physicians and pharmacists should be familiar with the legal and pharmacological specialities of biosimilars: The production process can differ from that of the original, clinical indications can be extrapolated, glycoproteins contain varying isoforms, the formulation may differ from the original, and biopharmaceuticals are potentially immunogenic. Only on proof of quality, efficacy and safety, biosimilars are a viable option because of their lower costs.