Player Suspended for Three Months for Doping Offence
The International Tennis Federation announced today that Stefan Koubek has been found to have committed a Doping Offence.
An independent Anti-Doping Tribunal convened under the ITF's 2004 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme has ruled that Stefan Koubek, a 27-year-old Austrian national, committed a doping offence under Article C.1 of the Programme (presence of a prohibited substance in a sample), in that a sample that he provided on 29 May 2004 after a men's singles match at Roland Garros in Paris tested positive for a glucocorticosteroid (Triamcinolone Acetonide), a substance prohibited in competition under the WADA Code and the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
Glucocorticosteroids are listed as a 'specified substance' under the WADA Code and the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, ie as substances 'particularly susceptible to unintentional anti-doping rules violations because of their general availability in medicinal products or that are less likely to be successfully abused as doping agents.' As a result, the Code and the Programme provide that a doping offence involving a specified substance where there is no intent to enhance performance carries a minimum penalty of a warning and reprimand through to a maximum penalty of a one-year suspension.
The independent tribunal, consisting of Mr Tim Kerr QC, Professor Vivian James and Dr Peter Jenoure, determined after a hearing in London on 21 December 2004 that Mr Koubek's analytical positive result was caused by an injection of Volon A40 administered to Mr Koubek as treatment for a wrist injury. The tribunal rejected a defence of No Fault or Negligence on the part of Mr Koubek but accepted that there was no intent on Mr Koubek's part to enhance performance. It therefore imposed a three-month suspension from competition, effective immediately. It also disqualified Mr Koubek's results from Roland Garros (including forfeiture of ranking points and prize money won by Mr Koubek at that event) but determined in its discretion that the results he obtained in events subsequent to Roland Garros should not be disqualified.
The tribunal's written decision with reasons will be available in the first half of January 2005 on the ITF's
website, www.itftennis.com. Any party wishing to appeal the decision will have three weeks to do so from receipt of the written decision. Subject thereto, Mr Koubek, whose current singles ranking is 60, will be eligible to return to competition on 21 March 2005.
The ITF will make no further comment until the written decision of the tribunal is received.
The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme is a comprehensive and internationally recognised drug-testing programme that applies to all players competing at tournaments sanctioned by the ITF, ATP and WTA Tour.
Players are tested for substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Charges of breach of the Programme are heard by an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal. More background information on the Programme, penalties, statistics and testing procedure information, can be found at www.itftennis.com.
For general enquiries about the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, please contact the ITF Communications
Department on tel: +44 (0)208 392 4625.
An independent Anti-Doping Tribunal convened under the ITF's 2004 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme has ruled that Stefan Koubek, a 27-year-old Austrian national, committed a doping offence under Article C.1 of the Programme (presence of a prohibited substance in a sample), in that a sample that he provided on 29 May 2004 after a men's singles match at Roland Garros in Paris tested positive for a glucocorticosteroid (Triamcinolone Acetonide), a substance prohibited in competition under the WADA Code and the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
Glucocorticosteroids are listed as a 'specified substance' under the WADA Code and the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, ie as substances 'particularly susceptible to unintentional anti-doping rules violations because of their general availability in medicinal products or that are less likely to be successfully abused as doping agents.' As a result, the Code and the Programme provide that a doping offence involving a specified substance where there is no intent to enhance performance carries a minimum penalty of a warning and reprimand through to a maximum penalty of a one-year suspension.
The independent tribunal, consisting of Mr Tim Kerr QC, Professor Vivian James and Dr Peter Jenoure, determined after a hearing in London on 21 December 2004 that Mr Koubek's analytical positive result was caused by an injection of Volon A40 administered to Mr Koubek as treatment for a wrist injury. The tribunal rejected a defence of No Fault or Negligence on the part of Mr Koubek but accepted that there was no intent on Mr Koubek's part to enhance performance. It therefore imposed a three-month suspension from competition, effective immediately. It also disqualified Mr Koubek's results from Roland Garros (including forfeiture of ranking points and prize money won by Mr Koubek at that event) but determined in its discretion that the results he obtained in events subsequent to Roland Garros should not be disqualified.
The tribunal's written decision with reasons will be available in the first half of January 2005 on the ITF's
website, www.itftennis.com. Any party wishing to appeal the decision will have three weeks to do so from receipt of the written decision. Subject thereto, Mr Koubek, whose current singles ranking is 60, will be eligible to return to competition on 21 March 2005.
The ITF will make no further comment until the written decision of the tribunal is received.
The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme is a comprehensive and internationally recognised drug-testing programme that applies to all players competing at tournaments sanctioned by the ITF, ATP and WTA Tour.
Players are tested for substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Charges of breach of the Programme are heard by an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal. More background information on the Programme, penalties, statistics and testing procedure information, can be found at www.itftennis.com.
For general enquiries about the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, please contact the ITF Communications
Department on tel: +44 (0)208 392 4625.