CAS must clear Schumacher, attorney says

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) must clear Stefan Schumacher of doping charges, because the analysis method used was not approved at the time, according to his attorney. There is no "legal basis" for a finding against his client, he said in a statement issued Friday afternoon.

According to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations, an analysis method can only be used when it is approved first by WADA and then by the appropriate local accreditation agency. Schumacher's analyses from the Tour de France were done in France in October 2008, and the analyses from the Beijing Olympics were tested in March 2009. The analysis method for CERA was not approved for use in France until July 1, 2009.

This shows that the samples were tested by an unapproved analysis method and the results are not valid, according to Lehner.

There are other issues, such as the lack of anonymity of the sample, Lehner said. The essential rules of conduct were not obeyed, he concluded.

This case will give the CAS "the opportunity to prove its objectivity which was recently put into question by the decision in the case of the speed skater Claudia Pechstein and to restore the lost credibility that it observes the legal rights of athletes".

The CAS is expected to rule on Schumacher's case the middle of December. Lehner said that if the ruling goes against his client, it would be appealed in the Swiss courts and the European court.

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