The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Britain to stick to doping ban law despite CAS ruling

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 08:18 AM PDT

LONDON, Oct 6 – Britain will retain a by-law preventing its athletes found guilty of wilful doping from competing in any Olympics, British Olympic Association chairman Colin Moynihan said today.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) earlier cleared the way for several dozen former doping offenders to compete at next year's London Games after dismissing the validity of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) rule banning them.

The IOC Rule 45 was introduced in 2008 and banned athletes, including American Olympic 400 metres champion LaShawn Merritt, from participating at the next Games if they have been suspended for six months or longer.

The BOA said its by-law was an eligibility rule and not a sanction like the IOC case so the CAS decision was not binding on Britain.

"It is tough but it is fair. It has a strong appeal mechanism," Moynihan told a news conference.

"Fundamentally the BOA by-law addresses eligibility and is not a sanction."

British sportsmen like cyclist David Millar, who said the CAS ruling was a "good thing", and sprinter Dwain Chambers have fallen foul of the by-law but the BOA is confident it would win a case if either of them went to CAS because of the distinction that not being picked is different from a sanction.

"This is a by-law introduced with support of the athletes for the athletes. It has consistently had 90 per cent support from the athletes," Moynihan continued.

He showed a letter the BOA had received from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) saying the association's anti-doping laws complied with the global standard.

CAS said its ruling on the IOC case was not in compliance with the WADA's code.

Moynihan has also written to the IOC, who he said would be hugely disappointed by the CAS ruling, asking for support.

"It is a sorry day for the International Olympic Committee," he added.

The BOA is also pondering extending the ban to athletes caught up in match-fixing – not just wilful doping, he said.

Former doper Millar, banned from competing in the Olympics by the BOA, said lifetime bans for a first offence "does not encourage rehabilitation nor education, two things that are necessary for the future prevention of doping in sport".

"Every doping case is different, as is every human being, we must not forget this. We expect fairness to be an integral part of the sports we watch, and yet fairness can be hard to find in the punishments of those athletes who make mistakes," the Scot said in a statement.

"I hope this decision (by CAS) will pave the way for the development of global sports, and to creating a system that all athletes and sports fans can understand and believe in." – Reuters

Bayern’s Breno can be released from prison on bail: Prosecutor

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 06:40 AM PDT

MUNICH, Oct 6 – Bayern Munich defender Breno can be released from prison if he posts bail after the Munich prosecutor said today there was no fear of flight and danger of suppression of evidence.

Breno (picture) had been remanded into custody on Sept 24 after he was suspected of having played a role in a fire that destroyed his Munich villa earlier in September.

"In order to be released he must first post bail," said the prosecutor's office in a statement. "When that might be cannot be predicted yet."

There was no mention of the size of bail needed.

The prosecutor also said there were 11 more conditions he would have to abide by once released, without naming any.

Brazilian Breno, 21, who joined Bayern three years ago, had been recovering from an injury and was alone at home at the time of the fire which gutted the house in Munich's Gruenwald neighbourhood.

Bayern are currently leading the Bundesliga standings and are top of their Champions League group. – Reuters

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Khamis, 6 Oktober 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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