FEI Tribunal issues Final Decision regarding an FEI Official Veterinarian in equine anti-doping case

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decision regarding an FEI Official Veterinarian in connection with an equine anti-doping case involving a Banned Substance.

In this case, the horse Halo (FEI ID 105ZA57/ITA), ridden by Guiseppe De Luca (FEI ID 10047635/ITA) and under the veterinary care (outside the event) of FEI Veterinarian Roberto Gottarelli (FEI ID 10051043/ITA), tested positive for the Banned Substance Stanozolol, following samples taken at the CSI2* Oliva (ESP), on 3 October 2020.

Mr Gottarelli had treated the horse with Sungate, containing Stanozolol, in the athlete’s presence, despite the fact that Banned Substances such Stanozolol are prohibited at all times.

In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal imposed an ineligibility period of two years on Mr Gottarelli starting from the date of the Final Decision. The provisional suspension of Mr Gottarelli, which came into effect on 9 March 2021, shall be credited against the ineligibility period, meaning the veterinarian will be ineligible until 8 March 2023. He was also fined CHF 5,000 and asked to pay costs of CHF 2,000.

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.

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.