18 Oct 2023
Related case:
TJD-AD 2023-003 Disciplinary Decision - Football
July 10, 2023
On 10 July 2023 the TJD-AD Panel decided to impose an 8 month period of ineligibility on the football player after he tested positive for the prohibited substance Tamoxifen.
In first instance the TJD-AD Panel deemed that the violation was not intentional and that the Athlete acted with some degree of negligence. The Panel accepted that he by mistake had purchased and used Tamoxifen Citrate instead of Tadalafil Citrate.
Herafter the Brazilian Doping Control Authority (ABCD) appealed this Decision with the TJD-AD Appeal Panel. ABCD requested the Panel to set aside the Appealed Decision and to impose a more servere sanction on the Athlete.
ABCD contended that the Athlete had not demonstrated how the substance had entered his system. Moreover he failed to produce corroborating evidence that he indeed had purchased Tamoxifen Citrate instead of Tadalafil Citrate in a pharmacy.
The Athlete admitted the violation and denied he acted intentionally. He asserted that he had cooperated with the proceedings and that only a low concentration of the substance was found in his samples.
Although Tamoxifen was used by athletes to treat the side effects of anabolic steroids, he argued that no other prohibited substances had been detected in his samples. He acknowledged that he had not checked his medication after purchase in the pharmacy.
The Rapporteur upholds the conclusion that the Athlete had committed an anti-doping rule violation. He finds that he failed to demonstrate how the substance had entered his system.
The Rapporteur regards that the Athlete had not mentioned his medication on the Doping Control Form, nor produced corroborating evidence about the alleged purchase of his medication in the pharmacy.
Further the Rapporteur holds that there are inconsistencies in the Athlete's explanation that the original medication was used to improve his erectile function without a prescription. He failed to check his medication, nor made an application for a TUE.
Therefore the TJD-AD Appeal Panel decides on 18 October 2023 to annul the Appealed Decision and to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the sample collection, i.e. on 11 November 2022.