Jannik Sinner, former Lausanne TAS member sheds light
The words of Cascella
Lawyer Angelo Cascella, an expert in international sports law and a former member of the TAS in Lausanne, took stock of Jannik Sinner at the microphones of Sportmediaset: "Since tests have been carried out and it has been proven that doping traces were present, he faces a sentence of one to two years. In these cases, there can be either intent or fault or negligence. In the former case the sentence canò go up to four years of disqualification, in the latter, as required for Sinner, it ranges from one to two years".
"Whyé has WADA decided to appeal? Becauseé the rule stipulates that it is prohibited to find within the analyses an athlete undergoes substances included in the list of prohibited substances. If banned substances are found in blood or urine tests of which the athlete and staff are fully aware, in this case the athlete’s liability is triggered. The è himself is in fact responsible for the substances that are found in his body, and in Sinner’s case, some of them were detected in the checks carried out on March 10 and 18, 2024. The athlete would have had the right to conduct counter-analyses, however, he preferred not to request them and for this reason è he was automatically suspended. Sinner appealed both cases and the Federation allowed him to return to play immediately. Having però found substances in the tests, the athlete had to justify the existence of them, explaining the origin of this presence. Using an independent tribunal, the’ITIA heard Sinner, witnesses and his expert witnesses believing how there was no responsibility on the’athlete".
"The director è adhered to the'application of the rules: the’athleteè also responsible for the staff of professionals who support him. If there are staff errors, they affect the athlete’s position and this can lead to disqualification. That’s the main reason why the ITIA’s decision was challenged by WADA. The World Anti-Doping Organization did not say that Sinner purposely violated the rules, but challenged fault or negligence. We should not forget how anti-doping rules are drawn up to protect the health of athletes. In this case we are going to talk about anabolic steroids, therefore banned because they risk creating damage to the health of the athlete.
Comment on money: "Could there also be economic consequences on Sinner? Yes, because é sponsorship contracts generally contain clauses that, in the event of an anti-doping positive, can lead to the cancellation of a contract itself or the payment of penalties to the athlete himself who may be found positive. The risk for the’athlete è of facing penalties, with WADA calling for a one- to two-year disqualification, thus pointing to guilt or negligence".
