The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) today welcomes the decision rendered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of the IAAF vs. the French Athletics Federation ("FFA") and Riad Guerfi (the Athlete).
Mr. Guerfi was charged and provisionally suspended by the IAAF for a doping offence in October 2016 on the basis of an abnormal haematological profile in the context of the IAAF’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) Programme.
In accordance with IAAF Rules, the case was referred to the FFA for adjudication. On 4 January 2017, the Disciplinary Commission of the FFA cleared the athlete on the basis of a "technicality" (vice de procédure) and lifted the provisional suspension imposed by the IAAF.
The IAAF appealed the FFA’s decision to CAS and immediately re-imposed a provisional suspension to protect the integrity of athletics competitions.
The AIU is pleased to note that the CAS upheld the IAAF’s submissions, namely that the Athlete had committed an anti-doping rule violation as a result of likely use of a Prohibited Substance or Method and that a full 4-year sanction should be imposed accordingly. Mr. Guerfi will be suspended from all athletics activities until 2020.
The CAS award (in French) will be published shortly on the AIU website.
This is the 95th doping case successfully brought forward by the IAAF in the context of its ABP Programme, by far the most successful to date across all sports and all countries.
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