Doping D-Day for Aphiwe Dyantyi
NEWS: Springboks Aphiwe Dyantyi’s career-defining hearing is set for September 15.
The former Lions wing’s hearing into a doping offence is scheduled to start on September 15, Khalid Galant, CEO of the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) confirmed to @rugby365com.
Galant also added that hearing initially planned to be a virtual event – as reported by the Irish Times – “will not be completely virtual.”
The 25-year-old Dyantyi faces a four-year suspension after his mandatory B sample confirmed the presence of banned substances methandienone, methyltestosterone and LGD-4033 in June 2019.
Consequently, the 2018 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the year was suspended from all forms of rugby and missed the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
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Since the positive doping results, the Springbok vehemently denied all wrongdoing and submitted a statement of defence in January.
“I have never cheated and never will,” last year’s statement read.
“The presence of this prohibited substance in my body has come as a massive shock to me and together with my management team and experts appointed by them, we are doing everything we can to get to the source of this and to prove my innocence.
“I underwent a drug test on the 15th of June 2019 [after a test on July 2nd] which did not return any adverse finding.”
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In June, the Irish Times reported that the 13-times capped Bok will have an opportunity to state his defence in a virtual hearing after both parties agreed on the technicalities of the hearing.
“We have to develop a procedure and protocol for a virtual hearing and then the athlete‚ his counsel and the arbitrating panel have to agree because this virtual hearing is a new thing,” Khalid Galant told Irish Times in June.
“We can’t just say we are going to have a virtual hearing – we have to give the parties the right to accept it or decline it and make sure that witnesses are not compromised.”
Meanwhile, Dyantyi’s camp has also submitted a couple of supplements they claimed could have been the source of the positive doping case.
The wing faces a four-year ban if a guilty verdict is upheld.
