Sinner case ‘a million miles from doping': WADA
Jannik Sinner's three-month ban for a pair of positive drug tests has been defended by the World Anti-Doping Agency after claims the world number one's punishment was too lenient.
Sinner's long doping saga came to an end on Saturday after the tennis star agreed to the ban, admitting 'partial responsibility' for team mistakes which led to him twice testing positive for traces of clostebol in March last year.
The Italian was facing a potential ban of two years after WADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against his initial exoneration by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
But WADA withdrew its appeal and came to an agreement with Sinner over his three month ban after accepting the 23-year-old was inadvertently contaminated by his physiotherapist.
Sinner said that the banned substance entered his system when his physio used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.
The sanction has been questioned and criticised by current and former players including Novak Djokovic.
However, WADA's general counsel Ross Wenzel believes the sanction level was 'in the right place' for what had occurred.
'This was a case that was a million miles away from doping,' he told BBC Sport on Tuesday.
'The scientific feedback that we received was that this could not be a case of intentional doping, including micro-dosing.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
12 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Ferrari targets Le Mans hat-trick
AFP | Le Mans Ferrari's Formula One fortunes may be flagging but the Italian constructor start this weekend's Le Mans 24 Hour Race as favourites targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport's fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing's crown underway at 1600 local time (1400GMT) on Saturday. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite Hypercars will battle it out over 300 laps (4,000 kilometres plus) in front of a sell-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after a 50 year absence to land Le Mans' centenary race in 2023, repeating the feat last year. The Prancing Horse stable ended Toyota's run of five consecutive wins from 2018 to 2022 with the Japanese manufacturer out to reclaim their crown 40 years after their first Le Mans appearance. A shake-up in the regulations for 2023 sparked fresh interest in the premier class and this year Ferrari, Toyota and Porsche face challenges from Aston Martin, Cadillac, BMW, Alpine, and Peugeot. Ferrari's position as the team to beat is bolstered by their bright start to the season, reeling off wins in the first three world endurance races in Qatar, Imola and Belgium. But Antonio Fuoco, who took the chequered flag 12 months ago along with Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, is taking nothing for granted. 'Compared to last year, everyone is closer to the other, it's going to be a tough battle,' forecast the 29-year-old Italian driver. Ferrari team manager Batti Pregliasco is wary of the threat posed by Toyota. 'The idea of winning a third Le Mans in a row would be magnificent,' he said. 'But the Toyotas are very strong here because they have the experience, the ability, and the means to win.' 'Bitter-sweet' Nyck De Vries was sharing driving duties in the Toyota that came off second best in 2024, and the 30-year-old Dutchman is hungry for revenge. 'Finishing second last year was a great result but after such a long race, with so many different emotions, it felt bitter-sweet, so we want to put that right this year,' said De Vries, summarily sacked by Red Bull's then Alpha Tauri sister team midway through the 2023 F1 season. De Vries is one of a cluster of former F1 drivers including former world champion Jenson Button seduced by the lure of adding their name on the hallowed Le Mans roll of honour - just as Fernando Alonso did in 2018-19 for Toyota, the veteran Spaniard emulating the likes of F1 greats from yesteryear like Graham Hill, Phil Hill and Jochen Rindt. Joining the 21 Hypercars are 17 entries in the LMP2 class and 24 in the LMGT3 category in an event that has been visited by tragedy over the years, with 22 drivers perishing. Le Mans, where eye-watering speeds of up to 400kmh have been reached on the Sarthe circuit's Mulsanne straight, marks the 70th anniversary of the 1955 disaster this weekend when pieces of debris from Pierre Levegh's car rained down on the crowd, killing 81 spectators, although a definitive death toll was never established. A sombre reminder then of the dangers faced by the 186 drivers taking part -- including the all women 'Iron Dames' LMGT3 team of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Fry and Celia Martin. The encouraging news for this brave bunch is that the French met office forecast looks benign, with no rain or storms predicted over the weekend which kicks off with qualifying for pole on Thursday night.
Daily Tribune
16 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Grealish left out of Man City squad for Club World Cup
AFP | London Jack Grealish's future at Manchester City was plunged into further doubt on Wednesday after the England international was left out of Pep Guardiola's squad for the Club World Cup. Despite City naming just 27 players from a possible 35 for the tournament beginning in the United States on June 14, Grealish was omitted alongside former captain Kyle Walker. All four of the club's new signings this week - Rayan AitNouri, Rayan Cherki, Tijani Reijnders and Marcus Bettinelli are included. Ballon d'Or winner Rodri is also selected after making his comeback from a long-term knee injury just before the end of the Premier League season. Grealish, who remains City's record signing after a £100 million ($135 million) move from Aston Villa in 2021, has falle n down the pecking order over the past two seasons. He made just seven Premier League starts in the 2024/25 campaign and was notably not summoned from the bench as City went down to a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final last month. The 29-year-old still has two years left to run on his City contract and his reported £300,000-a-week ($405,000) wages are a barrier to finding a potential suitor. Guardiola threatened last month he could leave the club if the size of his squad is not cut before the new season begins. Grealish is just one of a number of expected exits, along with Walker. The 35-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at AC Milan, but the Italian giants have not taken up an option to buy. City begin their Club World Cup campaign against Moroccan side Wydad Casa - blanca in Philadelphia next Wednesday before facing futher group games against Al Ain of AbuDha b i and Juventus.
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Pochettino problems mount as US routed 4-0 by Switzerland
AFP | Los Angeles An experimental United States line-up crashed to a 4-0 friendly home defeat to Switzerland on Tuesday, deepening the gloom around Mauricio Pochettino's squad one year out from hosting the World Cup. A game intended as a morale-boosting send-off before the USA take part in the CONCACAF Gold Cup unraveled in a disastrous first half that saw Switzerland 4-0 up after 36 minutes in Nashville. Dan Ndoye, Michel Aebischer, Breel Embolo and Johan Manzambi scored for Switzerland to leave a disgruntled home crowd at Geodis Park in Nashville raining boos down from the stands. The defeat was the fourth straight loss suffered by Pochettino's side, the first time the US has lost four in a row since 2007. Pochettino is planning for the USA's Gold Cup campaign, which kicks off on Sunday against Trinidad and Tobago, without several key players who are unavailable. AC Milan star Christian Pulisic was excused duty from the tournament after requesting a rest while Juventus duo Weston McKennie and Tim Weah are unavailable due to the Italian side's participation in the FIFA Club World Cup. Those absences left former Chelsea and Tottenham coach Pochettino having to dig deep to gauge the depth of his resources as the US builds towards next year's World Cup finals in the United States, Can-ada and Mexico. On Tuesday's evidence, the return of his European-based stars cannot come soon enough after Swit-zerland ran riot in a lopsided first half. Pochettino said he bore responsibility for picking the inexperienced line-up that were outclassed by the rampant Swiss. 'First of all it's my responsibility the choice of the starting 11. I wanted to give minutes to certain play-ers, but we were never in the game,' the Argentine said. US defender Walker Zimmerman attempted to put a brave face on the mauling, insisting there was still plenty of time for the side to improve before next year's World Cup. 'It's easy to look at one half and think this is all going to pieces, that we can't come back from a result like this,' Zimmerman told TNT television. 'But look at the build-up to 2022 -- we took down Morocco 3-0 and they made the semi-final. Things change. That was six months apart. 'So it's not the end of the world. We accept that it's not good enough and we realize that. That's where the disappointment comes in, but we have to flip the script and we've gotta make sure we do not come out like that ever again.'
