No change for Contador

This week has seen WADA drop its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the case of several Mexican soccer players who tested positive for clenbuterol but were not sanctioned by their federation. WADA also dropped its pursuit of Danish rider Philip Nielsen too. These two cases involve athletes and positive tests for clenbuterol so many are making a link to upcoming CAS hearings concerning Alberto Contador’s positive for clenbuterol. But I’d suggest caution here as the cases are quite different.

First the obvious point is that WADA might have dropped two appeals this week but it’s continuing with its appeal of the verdict by the Spanish Federation (RFEC).

Next the reason why WADA has withdrawn its two appeals is because of evidence of widespread meat contamination in Mexico. As I’ve outlined before the rules require Contador to prove where the clenbuterol came from. Given a lot of meat is reared with clenbuterol in Mexico it is quite probable that someone visiting Mexico can test positive for clenbuterol and they can suggest eating contaminated pork or beef as a probable source. The same was true for the recent Tour of Beijing were some riders were advised not to eat pork and beef.

But the story is quite different for Contador who did not visit Mexico, China or another country at risk just before his samples were taken. He was busy racing in the Tour de France. No other rider has come up positive, indeed I don’t think any other athletes have cited European meat as a source of contamination for clenbuterol.

This isn’t to say Contador’s hypothesis of a rogue steak is wrong, simply that the probability of contamination is far higher in Mexico than in Europe. Bad meat is a reasonable explanation for a positive test for a Mexican. But there are no widespread public health concerns in Spain or France. WADA’s rules on strict liability require Contador to prove where the contamination came from and his hypothesis could be correct but there is less evidence to support it.

Summary

WADA might have dropped two appeals but these two cases share a probable source of contamination in Mexico. European food safety standards reduce the likelihood of this happening. WADA’s actions this week say more about Mexico than Contador’s appeal.