Being judged as innocent...
ValeryiaLMotoGP rider Andrea Iannone is to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), after being sanctioned with an 18 month ban despite the international motorcycling federation (FIM) apparently accepting that an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a metabolite of drostanolone was caused by contaminated food.
‘We will support him in his appeal to the CAS’, read a statement from Iannone’s Aprilla team. ‘It is satisfying to see how the total absence of intention was recognised and the accidental nature of the consumption of steroids, in fact recognising the argument of food contamination’.
The decision of the FIM’s international disciplinary court (CDI) has not been published, as it is subject to appeal. Iannone was provisionally suspended on 17 December last year, after an in-competition sample given at the Malaysia Grand Prix on 3 November. His 18 month ban will run from then, expiring on 16 June 2021.
‘Being judged as innocent certainly does not leave me happy because, for the first time in history, an athlete is judged as innocent yet at the same time, is sentenced to 18 months for eating contaminated food over which he has no control. And I will not stop in my quest against this sentence because it should never happen again for anybody else’ - wrote Iannone on Instagram.
This is a devastating blow to Iannone after people around him – Aprilia, lawyers – spoke with confidence that they had presented a watertight case to exonerate him.
However, ignorance isn’t a defence often accepted by WADA and the ban – which could have been as much as four years – ultimately reflects this.
The length of suspension as it stands would take him right up to midway through the 2021 season and while Aprilia has stood by its man, it’s hard to see how they could factor him into their future considering his contract was already coming to an end at the close of the season.
Iannone is expected to appeal the ruling but this could take a number of months alone, while forming a case is risky because WADA could also push for a lengthier sentence.
Source: https://www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/andrea-iannone-to-appeal-18-month-ban-to-cas/, https://www.visordown.com/news/racing/motogp/andrea-iannone-condemns-drugs-ban-after-%E2%80%98being-judged-innocent%E2%80%99