Alberto Contador has had two potential setbacks to his hopes of escaping sanction in relation to his positive test for Clenbuterol. The first was the news that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is considering appealing the decision taken by the German Table Tennis Federation to clear the player Dimitrij Ovtcharov without any penalty.
Ovtcharov, an Oympic silver medallist and four-time European team champion, tested positive for Clenbuterol in a sample collected on August 23rd. He claimed innocence and provided a hair sample which he said in mid-October cleared him of wrongdoing. The German federation agreed and indicated that the case was closed.
However the World Anti Doping Agency has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision, indicating that it will decide soon whether to progress with it.
“So far, the action is a preventive one to ensure that right within the prescribed time,” WADA spokesman Frédèric Donze told the DPA agency. “After studying the data, WADA has found it necessary to clarify a number of issues with the German decision.”
Previous cases have seen those who proved they ingested the substance accidentally receive shorter sanctions. Jessica Hardy is one example, the American swimmer being able to show that her Clenbuterol positive originated from a contaminated nutritional supplement. The standard two year ban was reduced to one year, but she was still sidelined from the sport.
Ovtcharov’s clearing risked setting a new precedent, but now WADA appears to be moving to close that off. It has implications for the Contador case because he also tested positive for Clenbuterol and is hoping not to be sanctioned.
Also of relevance to Contador’s disciplinary action is the statements by UCI President Pat McQuaid in Berlin yesterday. He said that the UCI would take action if the Spanish cycling federation (RFEC) did not act adequately. “If we are not happy with the ruling of the Spaniards, then we will consult with WADA and go to CAS,” he told SID. “It must clearly be a fair result.”
A previous case involving Alejandro Valverde’s link to Operación Puerto led to WADA and the UCI making a joint appeal against the RFEC, which had refused to sanction the rider. The RFEC president Juan Carlos Castaño has said that he hopes the disciplinary proceeding goes well for Contador, prompting fears that the federation will not act impartially, although he denies this is the case.
WADA director general David Howman recently acknowledged the concerns about the RFEC, which is under a certain degree of public pressure in Spain to rule in favour of the rider. “There are perceived and potential conflicts, but I think the only thing we can say is that we have the right to appeal," Howman told the New York Times.
He said that the national federations “want to show us that they're doing a good job, but they also really don't want to have a controversy or embarrass their own sport, so there is a tension there all the time.”
On November 8th, the RFEC was requested by the UCI to open disciplinary proceedings against the rider. This should normally be completed within a month, after which the national federation will be fined. If a decision is not reached within three months, the UCI has the right to take the RFEC to CAS.