Summary
- Sport: Boxing
- Issue: Arbitration
- Type: Anti-Doping
- Tribunal: Charles Flint KC, Professor Dorian Haskard, Lorraine Johnson
- Decision date: 21 February 2023
- Outcome: 2 years ineligibility
Decision Details
A decision in the case of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) against Amir Khan has been issued by the National Anti-Doping Panel.
On 20 July 2022, UKAD issued Mr Khan, a retired British professional boxer who competed from 2005 until his retirement in May 2022, with a Notice of Charge for committing Anti-Doping Rule Violations for the Presence and Use of ostarine, a non-Specified Prohibited Substance under the WADA 2022 Prohibited List.
The National Anti-Doping Tribunal, comprised of Mr Charles Flint KC (Chair), Professor Dorian Haskard, and Ms Lorraine Johnson, was appointed to hear this matter.
The adverse analytical finding stemmed from a doping control test taken on 19 February 2022 after a boxing bout in Manchester. Pursuant to the World Anti-Doping Code, a non-Specified Substance carries with it a period of four years of ineligibility, unless the athlete can establish that the violation was not intentional. Mr Khan, upon being faced with the charge, admitted the violations while explaining that he did not intentionally ingest or use ostarine. Although Mr Khan argued that he had pursued every avenue to try to establish the source of the ostarine, he was unable to do so.
However, the Tribunal found the objective scientific evidence to be of critical value, ruling out any deliberate or reckless conduct by Mr Khan. In summary, the micro-dose detected in his sample did not correlate with an intention to use ostarine for performance enhancement. This was supported by Mr Khan having tested negative on 12 February 2022. The Tribunal accepted that this is a rare case as it is unusual that an athlete be subject to doping tests with such frequency as to exclude any possible argument that the residual sample could have been derived from the ingestion of a pharmacologically effective dose.
Accordingly, the Tribunal accepts that Mr Khan has established that the Anti-Doping Rule Violation was not intentional and imposes a period of Ineligibility of 2 years. The sanction is imposed retroactively, commencing on 6 April 2022, the date the provisional suspension is deemed to have started. Disqualification of Mr Khan’s results are limited to the Competition on 19 February 2022, with all resulting consequences.
The National Anti-Doping Panel is operated by Sport Resolutions.
A copy of the full decision can be accessed via the related links tab on the right-hand side.