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
• Professor Xavier Bigard, Medical Director at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), will draft regulations preventing any rider who has used tramadol or corticosteroids from starting a race, confirmed a UCI statement. Research by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found that use of both substances – corticosteroids are prohibited...
Ferdinand Omanyala and his coach have been sanctioned with bans after the Kenyan sprinter returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for the glucocorticoid betamethasone, a sanctioning update from the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) confirms (PDF below). Omanyala has been sanctioned with a 14 month ban, whilst his coach,...
The Swiss Federal Tribunal has refused a request that a 14-month ban applicable to Paolo Guerrero should be temporarily lifted allowing him to play for Internactional, which signed the Peruvian captain in August. Guerrero tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, following a doping control after Peru’s 0-0...
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is investigating a British Paralympic medalist due to allegations that they duped the classification system, a BBC investigation into new allegations of cheating in para sport has revealed. Parents, coaches, and athletes told the BBC that some para athletes are continuing to exaggerate disabilities...
The bosses’ arrogance which had once poisoned FIFA – and maybe other sports governing bodies – is laid bare in a single sentence quoted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of Jérôme Valcke. The 57-year-old Frenchman, world football’s number two as FIFA Secretary General from...
The Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) 27 July decision not to reinstate its membership. RusAF said that its appeal firstly argues that the decision is invalid, as it fails to outline a...
• The Powerlifting Federation of Russia has sanctioned one athlete with an eight year ban and another with a four year ban, announced the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). Nina Kondrashev (Кондрашеву Нину) has been sanctioned with an eight year ban from 24 August; and Alexander Avanesyan (Аванесян Александру) has...
• Sir Craig Reedie, President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), has defended himself against criticism from the agency’s former Director General over how it handled the reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). “This looks like they have taken the decision to deviate from a carefully put-together roadmap...
The Human Rights Special Procedures body of the United Nations has urged the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to withdraw its Eligibility Regulations for Female Classification (Athlete with Differences of Sexual Development) in a letter to IAAF President, Sebastian Coe. The DSD Regulations, as they have become known,...
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has released an extraordinary statement arguing that adaptations WADA had to make to deal with Russian doping have resulted in a stronger Agency. ‘We believe that today, WADA is much stronger and better equipped to pursue its mission as the global independent leader of...
An investigation by BBC Arabic (see below) has found that football matches in Algeria are fixed on a regular basis, sometimes with the knowledge of club Chairman. Reporters have passed their evidence on to the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), which is investigating, and the Algerian Football Federation...
• Austrian weightlifter Bernhard Legel has been sanctioned with a 20 months ban after testing positive for heptaminol on 5 May, the Austrian anti-doping agency (ÖADR) announced (click here to download the announcement). Heptaminol is an amino alcohol classified as a cardiac stimulant, and features on section S6 of...
The 12-person Executive Committee (ExCo) of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has voted to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) as compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code at its meeting today in The Seychelles. It is understood that nine of the 12 members of WADA’s Executive Committee voted to...
Olivier Niggli, Director of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), told Pavel Kolobkov, Russia’s Minister of Sport, what words he should add to a statement in order for the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to be reinstated as compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code, reveals an unpublished letter obtained by the...
Pressure is building on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over tomorrow’s Executive Committee decision on whether to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). On Friday last week, WADA announced that the Compliance Review Committee (CRC) had recommended that RUSADA should be reinstated. ‘While WADA does not usually communicate CRC...
