IN
THE
WIND
P46
Andrea Iannone Ban Extended
To Four Years
T
he worst possible news for
Andrea Iannone came through
last week as the Court of Arbitra-
tion for Sport (CAS) imposed a
four-year period of ineligibility on
the Italian, essentially bringing his
MotoGP career to an end.
Iannone tested positive for
banned anabolic steroid Drosta-
nolone at last year's Malaysian Mo-
toGP. Initially hit with an 18-month
ban from the FIM International
Disciplinary Court, the 30-year-old
appealed the decision, only to be
countered by the World Anti-Dop-
ing Agency (WADA), who pushed
for a four-year ban.
After meeting in October, the
CAS finally decided to apply
WADA's wishes. A statement
stated the CAS Panel ruled that
Iannone was unable to establish
the precise meat he ate which
he claimed was contaminated
with banned substance Drostha-
nolone. Nor was his team able
to prove any meat he had eaten
was contaminated.
"Since it is for an athlete to
establish on the balance of
probabilities that an ADRV is
not intentional, his inability to do
so means that he is deemed to
have committed an intentional
ADRV, pursuant to the applicable
anti-doping rule," read the official
statement. Aprilia's late hunt for a
full-time rider in 2021 is on.
Iannone took to Instagram in
response to the near career-
ending ban: Today I've received
the worst injustice I could ever
have imagined. They ripped my
heart apart from my greatest
love. No logical sense in these
allegations accompanied by
incorrect facts.
For this, there will be an appro-
priate place and time… because
I certainly do not give up. I knew
I was facing strong powers, but
I was hoping. I was hoping for
intellectual honesty and the af-
firmation of justice. Right now, I
am suffering at the highest level
I could imagine. Whoever has
tried to destroy my life will soon
understand how much strength I
have in my heart.
The power of innocence and
above all, a clear conscience.
A sentence can modify the
events but not the man. CN
It looks like it's
career over for
Andrea Iannone
following the CAS
ruling.
