Salazar four-year ban upheld by CAS

By Sports Desk September 16, 2021

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld the four-year ban imposed on athletics coach Alberto Salazar for anti-doping violations.

Salazar, who coached four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah among many athletes, and Dr Jeffrey Brown were banned in 2019 by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

American Salazar, former head of the now-closed Nike Oregon Project, launched an appeal against the decision.

It was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday that the bans handed out to Salazar and Brown, who has worked as a physician and endocrinologist, would stand.

A CAS statement said the pair had "committed a number of anti-doping rule violations".

CAS ruled that Salazar was guilty of being in possession of testosterone, complicity in Brown's administration of a prohibited method and tampering with the doping control process.

Following news of Salazar's ban two years ago, Nike shut the Oregon Project, its elite training group for distance athletes.

British long-distance runner Farah has never failed a drugs test or been accused of doping and parted ways with Salazar in 2017.

CAS said that aspects of USADA's handling of the cases against Salazar and Brown "seemed to be out of proportion and excessive when compared to the severity and consequences of the ADRVs [anti-doping rule violations] that have been established".

In a media release, CAS added that it "emphasised that none of the ADRVs directly affected athletic competition, and that there was no evidence put before the CAS as to any effect on athletes competing at the elite level within the NOP [Nike Oregon Project]".

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    Benn was reinstated to the WBC rankings in March, but recent reports suggested he had been provisionally suspended since March 15.

    That was confirmed by a UKAD spokesperson on Thursday.

    "Following reports in the media and comments made by professional boxer Mr Conor Benn on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, and in exceptional circumstances, UKAD confirms that Mr Benn was notified and provisionally suspended by UKAD on March 15, 2023 in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules," a statement read.

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    "UKAD can also confirm that on April 3, 2023, it charged Mr Benn with an Article 2.2 violation for the alleged use of a prohibited substance (clomifene). The charge against Mr Benn is pending and will now follow the results management process in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules."

    Prior to UKAD's confirmation, Benn defended himself on social media earlier in the week, saying he had been in conversation with the anti-doping body but suggested "politics" were to blame.

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    "Someone at the BBBoC or UKAD obviously wanted to create a headline, unlike the [Amir] Khan case where it was kept quiet for 14 months.

    "But this is nothing new. I remain free to fight outside the UK. This isn't even about my innocence anymore, it's all politics. You can't keep a good man down."

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    The boxer twice tested positive for the banned substance clomifene last year ahead of a scheduled bout with Chris Eubank Jr in October that was subsequently scrapped.

    Benn's reinstatement to the WBC rankings in March appeared to pave the way for a return, but he remains without a licence from the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC).

    Reports on Tuesday from Boxing News suggested he has been provisionally suspended since March 15, to which Benn responded on social media with defiance while acknowledging he could not say much else on the matter.

    "I can't comment on anything to do with UKAD other than to say that I am in touch with them," he wrote on Twitter.

    "Someone at the BBBoC or UKAD obviously wanted to create a headline, unlike the [Amir] Khan case where it was kept quiet for 14 months.

    "But this is nothing new. I remain free to fight outside the UK. This isn't even about my innocence anymore, it's all politics. You can't keep a good man down."

    Benn had been plotting a comeback bout abroad in Abu Dhabi later this year, with multiple options such as Eubank Jr and Manny Pacquiao apparently touted by his promoter Eddie Hearn.

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