FEI Tribunal issues Final Decision in equine anti-doping case

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decision in an equine anti-doping case involving five different Prohibited Substances.

The horse Moro Tianko (FEI ID 104CS28 /KSA), ridden by Mohammed Alalewi (FEI ID 10112634)/KSA), tested positive for the Banned Substance Tolfenamic Acid, and the Controlled Medication Substances Lidocaine, Flunixin, Diclofenac, Phenylbutazone and its metabolite Oxyphenbutazone following samples taken at the CEI2* 120 - Al Ula (KSA) on 2 February 2019.

The athlete, who is also the trainer of the horse, was unable to give any explanation for the presence of the Prohibited Substances in the horse’s sample.

In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse and athlete from the event, and imposed a three-year ineligibility period on the athlete. The Provisional Suspension of the athlete, which came into effect on 4 March 2019, is credited against the period of ineligibility imposed in the decision, meaning the athlete will be ineligible until 3 March 2022. He was also fined CHF 10,000 and asked to pay costs of CHF 2,000.

The full Decision is available here.

Notes to Editors:

FEI Equine Prohibited Substances

The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are those that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.

In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.

Specified Substances

The FEI introduced the concept of Specified Substances in 2016. Specified Substances should not in any way be considered less important or less dangerous than other Prohibited Substances (i.e. whether Banned or Controlled). Rather, they are simply substances which are more likely to have been ingested by horses for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance, for example, through a contaminated food substance. Positive cases involving Specified Substances can be handled with a greater degree of flexibility within the structure of the FEI Regulations.

Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.