WADA adds weight to Petacchi case

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) officials are expected to meet with their counterparts at the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the world doping body joined the call for Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram) to be banned and the Italian Cycling Federation's decision overturned, following the rider's non-negative during the Giro d'Italia. The three organisations will meet to discuss the case, with CONI considering combining both WADA and CONI's submission "considering the substantial uniformity" of their positions, a statement on CONI's website reported.

"[CAS] proposed to reunite the two arbitration procedures in consideration of the substantial uniformity of position of CONI and WADA," read the statement. "The Anti-dope Attorney's office express [a] favourable opinion."

Petacchi went before the Italian federation's disciplinary commission in July, where he was cleared of any wrongdoing after testing non-negative for Salbutamol on the Grio's Stage 11. The Italian rider has a special provision from the UCI to register a certain amount of the drug, which is found in asthma medication Ventolin.

Just two days after Petacchi was cleared CONI attorney Ettore Torri announced the organisation would appeal the FCI's decision. The federation declared itself unable to hear the appeal on August 11, passing the case on to CAS.