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 four (4) Prohibited Substances.

In this case, the horse ANA KS (FEI ID 107CR49 /JOR), ridden by Ahmad Kan’Aan (FEI ID 10071407/JOR) and trained by Ibrahim Fare’Kan’Aan (FEI ID 10040454/JOR), tested positive for the Controlled Medication Substances Dexamethasone, Diclofenac and Meloxicam as well as the Banned Substance Etoricoxib, following samples taken at the CEI2* 120 in Amman (JOR), from 29-30 September 2023.

Neither the athlete nor the trainer were able to provide an explanation as to how those substances entered the horse’s system. The FEI Tribunal found that the presence of four Prohibited Substances in the Horse’s body, all of which have anti-inflammatory effects, is not only rare but also very disconcerting in terms of protection and welfare of the horses, and as such constitutes Aggravating Circumstances.

In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal imposed an ineligibility period of 30-months on both the athlete and the trainer, starting from the date of the Final Decision. The provisional suspension already served by the athlete and the trainer shall be credited against their respective ineligibility period. They were also each fined CHF 10,000 and asked to pay costs of CHF 3,000.

The parties can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the decision.

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 that 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.