FINADA considering an appeal to CAS

The Finnish Sports Arbitration Board did not find skier Juha Lallukka guilty of an antidoping rule violation. Today, 5 December 2013, the Finnish Sports Arbitration Board provided its resolution, based on a vote, to an appeal filed by the Finnish Antidoping Agency FINADA.

On 7 September 2011, the athlete’s doping control showed an adverse analytical finding with regard to growth hormone. In a hearing decision issued on 19 January 2012, the Supervisory Board postponed the processing of Lallukka’s suspected antidoping rule violation on the athlete’s own request. The Supervisory Board published its acquittal on 19 June 2013, referring to the shortcomings observed in the setting of the decision limits of the growth hormone test. At the same time, however, the Supervisory Board commented that it could not be sure of the impact of the decision limits on the athlete’s adverse analytical finding. FINADA filed an appeal regarding the decision to the Finnish Sports Arbitration Board on 18 July 2013.

“FINADA feels that the athlete is guilty of an antidoping rule violation. We are thoroughly investigating the details of the resolution, including the rationales of the Board members who did not agree with the decision,” says Pekka Ilmivalta, Chair of FINADA.

FINADA has discussed the matter with the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA and is considering taking the case to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). WADA also has the right to appeal the decision regardless of FINADA.

WADA has established new decision limits and will likely confirm them within the coming months. The decision limits have been evaluated by an independent Canadian research group that specialises in statistics.

“I am quite astounded at the decision. After the decision limits are confirmed, there will not likely be any doubt about the athlete’s antidoping rule violation. The athlete’s results are so clearly above the new official decision limits defined by WADA,” says Timo Seppälä, Medical Director of FINADA.

Further information:

Pekka Ilmivalta

FINADA – Chair

Mobile +358 50 596 7906

Timo Seppälä

FINADA – Medical Director

Mobile +358 400 685 337