Press release - The appeal by Carlos Roman Golbano is rejected

27.01.2010

On Monday the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected an appeal by Stefan Schumacher and upheld the worldwide two-year suspension that the UCI had imposed on the German rider in extension of the sanction by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) regarding competition in France. Today – there has been another extremely important legal reaffirmation of the fight against doping.

The Third Section of the Provincial Court of Almería, Spain, completely rejected the appeal by the Spanish rider Carlos Roman Golbano, who had challenged the legitimacy of the Whereabouts Information System that is used to gather vital information on the location of sportspeople who are subject to out-of-competition doping controls.

According to the ruling, which confirms the first judgment in the case issued by Almería Civil Court No. 6 in September 2007, the implementation of the programme does not breach individual rights guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution, in particular in respect of the protection of privacy.

The UCI, having defended the legitimacy of the Whereabouts Information System in conjunction with the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) during the hearing, expressed its profound satisfaction at the ruling; it certainly represents a major step forward in case law in the fight against doping.

UCI President, Pat McQuaid, said: "Cycling has been at the forefront of the fight against doping for many years. We are once again proud that our commitment offers benefits to the sports movement as a whole. We are ever more convinced that our joint efforts against the scourge of doping will become increasingly effective, in particular as a result of rulings such as this, which recognise the basic principles upon which our strategies and actions are based."  

The UCI also thanked the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which played an important part in the first stage of the case, and also points out that some 850 professional cyclists come under the remit of the Whereabouts Information System through the biological passport programme.

UCI Press Service