Aurélie SACCHELLI, Media365, published on Tuesday, December 06, 2022 at 4:08 p.m.
Temporarily suspended following a positive test for a banned product during the US Open, Simona Halep could see her suspension lifted if she provides proof that she ingested a contaminated product without knowing it.
Since October 21 and the announcement of her provisional suspension following a positive test for Roxadustat, a prohibited product, during the US Open, Simona Halep has been rather discreet. The shocked 31-year-old Romanian player first denied cheating, then her social media posts were limited to a photo of a Greek temple posted four days ago, and a Christmas tree. Christmas Monday. The tenniswoman does not yet know when she will be able to play again in competition, she who risks up to four years of suspension, but she has undoubtedly regained some morale by reading the words of Cristian Jura, one of the judges (Romanian) of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, relayed by the Romanian site ProSport. “It appears that the method by which Roxadustat entered the athlete’s body has been identified, namely by ingesting a contaminated dietary supplement. A contaminated product is a product that contains a prohibited substance, without this being specified on the product label or in the information accessible by a reasonable search on the Internet. Procedurally, there are several steps. First, there is a preliminary hearing before the International Tennis Integrity Agency. At this point, it is possible to lift the provisional suspension of the athlete, taking into account the evidence that she has ingested a contaminated supplement. But I would like to make an important clarification. Just as it is possible to lift the provisional suspension, it can also be upheld, much depends on the evidence. »
Halep like Farah?
Simona Halep will therefore have to provide proof that she unintentionally ingested a contaminated product. Not easy… But the rest of his career depends on it. The former Roland-Garros and Wimbledon winner can hope to follow in the footsteps of former doubles world No. 1 Robert Farah, who was suspended at the end of 2019 following a positive boldenone test, but had been cleared because he had managed to prove that the contamination came from the meat he had consumed in Colombiawhere this substance is often used to stimulate the growth of beef.
