Mykhailo Mudryk has hit the headlines of global media due to unexpected information — supposedly he could switch to athletics and participate in the Olympics. Whether this is possible was explained by the well-known sports lawyer Ilya Skoropashkin.
Ilya Skoropashkin— Ilya Anatolyevich, should we believe the reports from foreign media, or can Mudryk, who is disqualified for doping, switch to another sport and shake off the suspension?
— It can be confidently stated that the scenario described in the article by the reputable publication Marca is unrealistic. The reason is that the anti-doping system worldwide is based on the principle of universality, which makes it impossible for an athlete to avoid sanctions by changing sports.
Moreover, the WADA Anti-Doping Code clearly establishes: “No athlete or other person against whom a Disqualification or Provisional Suspension has been imposed may participate in any capacity in Competitions or other activities during the period of Disqualification or Provisional Suspension” (p. 10.14.1.).
— So, conditionally, a footballer with a doping disqualification will not be able to participate in athletics competitions, and any basketball player will also be barred from tennis competitions?
— Exactly. Unfortunately, a disqualified athlete essentially becomes a “ghost” in official sports. They can train privately, for example, in a public park or commercial gym, but cannot interact with any official sports system, especially national teams. This complete isolation is the true essence of the sanction designed to completely exclude the athlete from the sporting environment whose integrity they violated. But there is one nuance.
— And what is this nuance?
— The only exception to p. 10.14.1 may be the return of the Athlete to training with the team or the use of the club’s or another organization’s facilities, during the time, depending on which occurs first: 1) the last two months of the Athlete’s Disqualification or 2) the last quarter of the duration of the Disqualification (p. 10.14.2.).
— So, if the media does not yet know, but the term of the disqualified athlete has been shortened and he is actually serving his disqualification. But then will the powers of Mudryk’s contract with Chelsea continue?
— Exactly. He will continue to fulfill his contract. But will the club release a player who has not played for a long time to compete in another sport, which could potentially be traumatic? This is a rhetorical question.
— Are there any parallels, examples from real sports law practice when an international-level athlete tried to return to sport prematurely to somehow circumvent doping restrictions?
— In the practice of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, the case of American Olympic table tennis player Kanak Jha was considered. It is extremely indicative for our situation.
The essence is that when the athlete was serving a provisional suspension for violating the rules of providing location information, he participated in an exhibition (!!) event organized by his sponsor “PingPod,” which took place in the facility of the US national table tennis federation, which was a fatal mistake.
USADA immediately accused Jha of violating the terms of the provisional suspension. In court, the athlete argued that he did not know that the event was taking place in a facility associated with the national federation, but the CAS rejected the athlete’s appeal. As a result, the athlete lost the counting of the period of provisional suspension he had already served, which essentially extended his total term of disqualification.
Dmytro Chornobai
