WADA may use evidence in front of CAS if necessary
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WADA President John Fajey (l) and Director General David Howman earlier this year.(Image credit: AFP)
Director General of the WADA, David Howman(Image credit: AFP)
An emotional Alberto Contador during his press conference in his home town of Pinto (Image credit: AFP)
The evidence gathered by anti-doping authorities against Alberto Contador is gathering more and more support. The test for excess levels of plasticizer di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), developed by the Spaniard Dr. Jordi Segura, the head of the IOC-accredited laboratory in Barcelona, has not yet been fully validated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) but may soon become instrumental to doping detection methods.
WADA general director David Howman has supported the test, telling AP that the detection method was "fully validated" in the food industry already, where it has been used for years. While its use for anti-doping purposes remains only "partially validated", Howman explained that "evidence from it, among others, can be used before tribunals."
WADA may thus be able to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and use the plasticizer test results on a legal level. The Spanish cycling federation has yet to determine a sanction against Alberto Contador for testing positive for Clenbuterol, for which there is no minimum threshold.
"There is no such thing as a limit where you don't have to prosecute cases. This is not a substance that has a threshold," Howman added with regard to the Clenbuterol found in Contador's urine. "Once the lab records an adverse finding, it's an adverse finding and it has to be followed up."
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