• The Irish government is considering the establishment of an independent anti-doping agency within the next two years, it announced within its National Sports Policy 2018-2027. ‘Ireland sees an emerging requirement for the anti-doping system to be seen as independent of the system that supports and funds the achievement of excellence in sport’, reads the Policy (PDF below). ‘The trend internationally is for the establishment of an agency, separate to the sports development agency, to regulate anti-doping matters. We commit to a detailed consideration of this issue in the first two years of the policy.’ Anti-doping in Ireland is currently managed by Sport Ireland.

• The Federal Court of Appeal of the Italian football association (FIGC) has upheld Parma Calcio 1913’s appeal against a decision to sanction the club with a five point deficit for the 2018/19 season. The FIGC court also reduced a two year ban issued to Parma’s player, Emanuele Calaiò,to five months. Parma beat Spezia 2-0 on 18 May to secure automatic promotion to Serie A on goal difference over Frosinone. Ahead of the game, Calaiò is understood to have sent text messages to former Spezia teammates asking them not to try too hard. 

• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has suspended the Stockholm Laboratory from carrying out analysis of samples using the Gas chromatography combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) method. WADA said that the suspension was due to a non-conformity regarding this method with the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL).

• Ukraine’s national police has opened a criminal investigation into match-fixing, announced the country’s football association (FFU). Police are investigating 11 matches in lower level tournaments, as well as allegations that dozens of officials involved in the organisation of such tournaments are involved, said the FFU. Referee Dmitry Kryvushkina (Дмитра Кривушкіна) has been summoned for questioning as a witness, announced the FFU.

• Ziga Jeglic has been issued with an eight month sanction by the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s Anti-Doping Division (CAS ADD), the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced. The Slovenian was forced to leave the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics after he returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for fenoterol. The sole arbitrator accepted his explanation that fenoterol was an ingredient in an asthma inhaler prescribed  by his team doctor for which he did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), but warned that ‘athletes may not “hide” behind mistakes of their doctors’.

• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is seeking nominations to fill 17 positions on its Standing Committees for 2019. Three positions are available on WADA’s Athlete Committee, two are available on its Compliance Review Committee (CRC); five on its Education Committee; Four on its Finance and Administration Committee; and three on its Health, Medical and Research Committee. Nominations must be submitted by 5 October 2018 to Marjorie Chinnarassen of WADA’s Executive Office.

• The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that it has increased a one year ban imposed on Shahzaib Hasan for failing to disclose a match-fixing approach whilst playing for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2017. The PCB did not announce the reasons why it had increased the ban.

• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced its Independent Observer and Athlete Outreach programmes for the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games. Click here for details.