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 substance Boldenone and a metabolite. Boldenone is a non-specified substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) List.

A sample taken from the El Salvadoran athlete Paulo Sergio Mateo Santana Filho (FEI ID 10027830/ESA) on 9 June 2018 during the CSI5* Calgary, Spruce Meadows (CAN) returned positive to the two substances. The athlete was notified of the violation of the FEI’s Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA) on 11 July 2018. He was provisionally suspended from the date of notification.

In the Final Decision, and in accordance with Article 169 of the FEI General Regulations and Article 10 of the ADRHA, the athlete has been suspended for a period of four years, the standard sanction for non-specified substances. The period of provisional suspension, effective from 11 July 2018, has been credited against the period of ineligibility imposed in this decision, meaning that the athlete will be ineligible until 10 July 2022.

Additionally, the athlete has been fined CHF 4,000 and ordered to pay costs of CHF 5,000.

The athlete can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the decision (25 April 2019). The El Salvadoran National Anti-Doping Organisation and WADA may also appeal the decision to CAS within the timeframes set out in Article 13 of the ADRHA.

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.