Why did Adel Mehaal avoid sanctions? Kathir’s predecessor, who could not justify failure in management and won | Relief

“It’s not negative news, it’s always positive news“, he replied Adel Mehaal after winning the 3000m at the Valencia Grand Prix, when asked just hours earlier about the news of Mo Katir’s suspension. Now, after the final sanction, he again expressed his opinion, noting that Kathir’s success “were the result of not positive things“This very militant position surprised many and even more so after they found themselves in a similar situation in 2017 when He was suspended for failing to be contacted three times in just eight months.. So, unlike what ultimately happened to the man from Murcia, he emerged unharmed, but… what happened in his case?

The athlete noted in the same interview on the Luis Puig velodrome track that his case “This was different because it was with AEPSAD, which is now called CELAD, and as a rule of thumb they work terribly.“After his words, many on social networks said – returning to the then widespread version – that Mekhaal proved that he was finally found guilty because he showed that “he participated in the competition” during the failed checks and his absence was justified, but this unreal.

According to the official decision of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), The middle-distance runner did not justify any of his three “absences” at the control and It was the letter, which had been searching for a recipient for a long time, that saved him from sanctions. firmly. Let’s see what the court decided.

Three “missing” controls and an unselected card.

The facts set out in the resolution indicate that on December 8, 2015. The Spanish Anti-Doping Agency tried unsuccessfully to conduct a first control at its training site in Font-Rome. (France). The next day, AEPSAD sent notice by regular mail to the same address. report a failed check. According to TAS, “Apparently, the athlete never received this notification. and the postal agency returned this letter (AEPSAD/SELAD), noting that the message the recipient never picked it up

“That is, the deadline for receipt at the office has passed and Mekhaal did not come for the letter, as happens with any certified item.

A few days later, on Monday, January 11, 2016, Jesus Muñoz Guerra from the AEPSAD Athlete Whereabouts Department sent an email notifying Mechaal that your location data is not being recordedhaving nothing to do with or apparently not mentioning this first failed attempt:

“Good morning, There is currently no information about your location in the ADAMS system. Please proceed to download your location data. We remind you that failure to comply with this requirement is an anti-doping rule violation and that from the moment you are notified of your inclusion in the AEPSAD monitoring group, you must do so (…)”

Same day Mehaal replies to Muñoz Guerra’s email with the following information:

“Hello, from today until Saturday (January 16, 2016) I will be at my home in Palamos. Due to an untimely injury, I came from the front Romeu (sic) for treatment. On Sunday the 17th I will be competing in Italica, Seville (sic) and from the 18th to the 23rd I will be (sic) in CAR in Seville (sic) and on the 24th I will be competing in Elgoibar . My address in Palamos: c/riera n29, floor 1. 17230 Gerona. I’m trying to enter data, but I can’t send it. I don’t have a computer, as I have one in the apartment opposite Romeo (France). To anyone who has a computer at hand, I send (sic) data. In these two weeks you already know where to find me. And it depends on this whether the discomfort disappears or not. I would return to Front Romeu or stay in Palamos (…)”

Without confirmation of the exact date Mehaal updated his location profile in ADAMS, the day On February 24, an AEPSAD agent again unsuccessfully attempted to conduct a new check on him. anti-doping center at his home in Palamos, and a few hours later the athlete sent an email to the AEPSAD athlete location department commenting as follows:

“This morning a doctor came to our house, yesterday I missed my flight and took AVE This morning from Seville (sic) to Barcelona, ​​if you send me (sic) anywhere, I will pass the control. immediately. Thank you.”

Although it was known to the public that the athlete was justifying his participation in the competition during the control failure, Mehaal effectively confirmed with this email that This was not in Palamos, the location listed in ADAMS. at the time of control and no one I was in Elgoibar (as he indicated in the sequence of dates emailed to Muñoz Guerra as he was returning from Seville). In neither of the two places would the athlete be able to pass the test. It must be emphasized that although CAS does not mention this in its resolution, this personal communication with an AEPSAD official is not one of the placement options included in the International Standard for Controls.

World Anti-Doping Agency.

Two days after the second unsuccessful control, Muñoz Guerra sends a message to Mechaal again about the first check this was not carried out, in which case the athlete received it three days later (29 January 2016). Beware of this strange and repetitive AEPSAD movement and then Mehaal notification of collection because this will ultimately be the key to resolving the case.

According to the Spanish anti-doping agency, the Spanish player has already failed testing twice. for being unable to be contacted at the time recorded in ADAMS, and thus informing him of his second “absence” on February 11th. Within ten days of each of these two notifications, the Catalan did not make any claims under the code.

Everything got more complicated July 15, 2016just days before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, when World Athletics was also unable to locate the athlete at the checkpoint in Font-Rome, a location registered in the ADAMS system.. The alarming situation with the completion of three “strikes” soon reached the federation, and Mehaal was unable to travel with the rest of the team to Brazil for the Olympic competition because, as was said, “administrative problems”. Coincidentally, these are the same words Kathir is now using in the first steps of his defense.

The International Athletics Federation suspended Mekhaal on December 7, 2016, which he said the next day, and he managed to have the suspension overturned on December 9. A few weeks later, January 16, 2017 AEPSAD sanctioned the athlete for 15 months without competition.effective September 30, 2016. Following Mehaal’s appeal to CAS, a legal battle of versions and conflicting objections began.

CAS accepts the “lost letter” option, but warns Mechaal

Considering all these facts, it is time for the CAS to make its decision under the chairmanship of an Israeli lawyer. Ephraim Barak, same as in the case of Alberto Contador’s contaminated steak several years earlier and which he repeated in another Spanish media case, despite the fact that the number of potential arbitrators from around the world numbered in the hundreds.

Before making its final decision, the CAS panel stated that “The athlete was at least unceremonious when he limited himself to sending an email. allegation of technical problems and lack of electronic resources to meet the requirements, especially considering that It wasn’t spontaneous who decided to do so, but after a reminder from AEPSAD.” In the same vein, he believes that Mehaal “made it clear that his course of action showed a disturbing lack of awareness of his obligations. regarding location/location.”

Finally, he noted that with sending the above email to Muñoz Guerra, this was part of his defense:The Arbitration Commission does not want to put up with this

HE do not even meet the minimum requirements essential so an international athlete with an already distinguished sporting career can assess that his obligation has been fulfilled regarding location information.”

Of course, despite warnings and strong statements against Mechaal’s actions, CAS eventually lifted sanctions against Mechaal, citing that “The second failed test on the athlete was taken on January 24, 2016, which was five days before the athlete actually became aware of his first failed test.“. And nothing more. TAS (here you can read the full resolution) did not specify what would have happened if Muñoz Guerra, on behalf of AEPSAD, had not sent a second notice of the first failed control, which was the one received after the second failed control, Mehaal did not would have taken the famous letter that was waiting for him at the post office, and who knows what would have happened to the athlete.