FEI Tribunal issues Final Decision in human anti-doping case

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decision in a human anti-doping case involving an adverse analytical finding for the prohibited substances Prednisone and Prednisolone, glucocorticoids listed in Class S9 Glucocorticoids under the 2019 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

A sample taken from the Japanese para athlete Tsutomu Inoue (FEI ID 10059837/JPN) on 17 October 2019 at the CPEDI3* Gotemba (JPN) returned positive for Prednisone and Prednisolone. The athlete was notified of the violation of the FEI’s Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA) on 4 March 2020 and was not provisionally suspended, since the substances found in his sample are classified as Specified Substances.

In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal approved the agreement reached between the Athlete and the FEI in which it was stated that the athlete bears no significant fault or negligence for the rule violation. The athlete was prescribed with a medication Prednisolone to treat his medical condition, however, due to a lack of anti-doping education, he did not know it was necessary for him to apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for Prednisolone before competing internationally.

The athlete is suspended for a period of two months, starting from the date of the FEI Tribunal Final Decision (4 January 2021).

Additionally, the athlete has been disqualified from all results obtained at the event and fined CHF 1,000.

In accordance with Article 13.2 of the ADRHA Rules, the athlete can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the decision.

The full text of the FEI Tribunal’s Final Decision is available here.

Notes to Editors:
FEI Clean Sport - human athletes
The FEI is part of the collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The aim of this movement is to protect fair competition as well as athlete health and welfare.

WADA’s Prohibited List identifies the substances and methods prohibited in- and out-of-competition, and in particular sports. The substances and methods on the List are classified by different categories (e.g., steroids, stimulants, gene doping).

As a WADA Code Signatory, the FEI runs a testing programme for human athletes based on WADA’s List of Prohibited List of Substances and Methods and on the Code-compliant FEI Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).

For further information, please consult the Clean Sport section of the FEI website here.