The Sports Tribunal of New Zealand (STNZ) has ruled that the sanctioning of cyclist Karl Murray will be rescheduled, despite rejecting his claim that he did not fall under the jurisdiction of Cycling New Zealand when he reported an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for clenbuterol. The STNZ ruled that as Murray had applied for a licence on 24 February 2017, he fell under the jurisdiction of the World Anti-Doping Code from that date, despite his licence not being issued until 11 April 2017, almost a month after his 18 March 2017 AAF.

‘The Tribunal is satisfied that the Licence date of 11 April 2017 is not determinative of Mr Murray’s obligations, which the Tribunal finds arose on 24 February 2017’ reads the decision. ‘The first and primary reason is that the UCI regulations and Cycling NZ Terms and Conditions of Membership impose obligations, including compliance with the anti-doping rules and the WADA Code, on a person who applies for membership and from the date of that application’.

The STNZ said that this is specified in Rule 1.1.004 of the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) Regulations on the General Organisation of Cycling as a Sport, which reads: ‘As from the time of application for a licence and provided that the licence is issued, the applicant is responsible for any breach of the regulations that he commits and is subject to the jurisdiction of the disciplinary bodies’.

As Murray applied for membership of the Manukau Club and Cycling NZ on 24 February 2017, it ruled that he was bound by the World Anti-Doping Code from that date. As reported by The Sports Integrity Initiative in October last year, Murray returned an AAF for clenbuterol during the Tour of Northland upon his return from a previous ban. He has also been accused of coaching athletes whilst banned.