22 February 2017

Sports Integrity Briefs – 22 February

Oskars Udris has been issued with a two-year ban by the Latvian Swimming Federation following a positive test for meldonium at the Riga swimming championships on 25 November last year. ‘The Swimming Federation of Latvia imposed a sanction of two (2) years’ ineligibility on the athlete starting on November 25, 2016, the day of his voluntary provisional suspension’, read a statement from the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA).

• The Irish Football Association (IFA), which regulates the game in Northern Ireland, is investigating Crewe United’s 5-0 loss to Warrenpoint Town on 4 February due to allegations of suspicious betting activity. ‘The club had no knowledge of the suspicious betting until a notice was read to players of both teams prior to the game by an independent observer appointed by the Irish Football Association (IFA). Subsequent to the match formal notice was given to the club of the investigation’, read a 22 February statement from Crewe United. ‘The club took the immediate action of suspending the players involved to allow for an internal investigation. These players remain suspended. The findings of this internal investigation have been passed on to the IFA and we will continue to co-operate with the IFA as required to assist with their own investigations.’

• The Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) announced that the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has granted Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE), after she returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for Spironolactone in December last year. UFC’s statement outlined that USADA accepted Justino had been granted a legitimate medical prescription for a ‘common endocrine disorder’.

• The UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has appointed Trevor Pearce to succeed David Kenworthy as Chairman of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). Pearce, who is a Commissioner with Great Britain’s Gambling Commission, takes on the role on 23 February. A DCMS statement said that Pearce would receive a salary of £33,000 per annum.

ESSA, the sports integrity body, has added BetStars to its list of regulated gambling operators. The 25 regulated gambling operators that are members of ESSA monitorsbetting markets in order to alert sporting bodies and national regulators to potential fraud caused by manipulation of sporting events.

• The Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) have announced changes to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which will go into effect from 1 April 2017. The new policy requires athletes to be in the UFC Registered Testing Pool (RTP) for one month before their first bout, and requires athletes entering the RTP to declare any prohibited substances used during the past year. A summary of the major changes is available here.

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