Andy has been writing about the governance of sport for over 15 years. Prior to working on the Sports Integrity Initiative, he was the editor of World Sports Law Report for eight years. He has also worked for the Press Association and has written for numerous trade magazines. He has also created, chaired and spoken at numerous conferences on the business of sport, and produced the Sports Law Show for iSportConnect TV.
All posts by Andy Brown
“I think the system is perhaps more loaded against the athlete, but the entire system would fall apart if you had to put the burden on the doping authority rather than the athlete”. The above quote is from Richard McLaren, the sports lawyer who authored two Reports into Russian...
• Luís Filipe Vieira, President of Benfica, has been arrested by judicial authorities, the Portuguese football club announced. ‘Approximately 45 each warrants, covering corporate premises, domiciles, law firms, and a banking institution’, were issued, according to a statement from Portugal’s Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP). ‘The...
Alex Quiñónez, who has qualified to represent Ecuador at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, has been provisionally suspended for ‘whereabouts’ failures, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics announced. The sprinter has become the fourth athlete in recent months to blame staff for failing to fulfil their ‘whereabouts’ requirements....
The Russian rowing federation (FGSR) has requested the opening of the B samples of two rowers, after they were excluded from the Russian Olympic team after returning adverse analytical findings (AAFs – or ‘positive tests’) for meldonium at a 17 June training camp in Greece. Stanislav Pozdnyakov (Станислав Поздняков),...
• Athletes competing at Tokyo 2020 are entitled to free legal representation, through a service organised by the Japanese Sports Arbitration Agency (JSAA) and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JAFBA). Over 30 lawyers will be available to represent athletes at urgent hearings before the Court of Arbitration for...
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has reallocated 12 quota places for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, after sanctions were issued to the Colombian, Turkish, and Vietnamese federations. However, by requiring these federations to withdraw athletes who had qualified for the Games, potentially innocent athletes are being punished for the actions...
• The international cycling union (UCI) has sanctioned Matteo De Bonis with a three year ban for an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) involving erythropoietin (EPO). The International Testing Agency (ITA) conducted a targeted control on the Italian outside of competition on 16 February, on behalf of the UCI. De...
Rob Font has been cleared of violating the Ultimate Fighting Championships’ (UFC) Anti-Doping Policy, after an investigation found that a 22 May positive test was caused by cosmetic products such as shampoo and body lotion. As a result, it is understood that the UFC and the US Anti-Doping Agency...
Last week, two Namibian athletes were excluded from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after being assessed under the DSD Regulations of World Athletics. It has been widely reported that the DSD Regulations (PDF below) seek to exclude ‘women’ whose testosterone levels exceed 5nmol/L from international events run between 400m and...
• Brianna McNeal, who was sanctioned with a five year ban earlier this month for tampering with the doping control process, has told the New York Times that she didn’t hear a Doping Control Officer (DCO) call as she was in bed recovering from an abortion. It is understood...
US 100m medal hope Sha’Carri Richardson could still compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, despite being sanctioned with a one month ban due to a positive test for THC, a metabolite of marijuana. Richardson returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF – or ‘positive test’) at the US Olympic Trials...
Nicolae Vlad and Hassan Akkus have ‘stepped aside’ as Vice President of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and President of the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) respectively, after they were charged with anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) by the International Testing Agency (ITA). Both are members of the IWF Executive Board,...
Estonian wrestler Heiki Nabi is to appeal a two year ban issued by the Estonian Centre for Integrity in Sports (ESTCIS) to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), reports Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR. Nabi, a 2016 World Champion and London 2012 Silver Medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, was provisionally...
• Ireland’s Agriculture Committee has asked trainer Jim Bolger, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), Horse Racing Ireland, and the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRHTA) to a 7 July meeting to discuss allegations of doping, reports Sky Sports. In a two part interview (Part 1, Part 2) for the...
A doctor, a weight room instructor, and a bodybuilder have been sanctioned with lengthly bans after being prosecuted for their part in a network that supplied prohibited substances to amateur Italian athletes. It is understood that policeman Vincenzo Catapano worked with Biagio Varriale and weight room instructor Loris Losi,...
