REPORT: Dyantyi's long-awaited hearing set for September

SPOTLIGHT: While most South African professional rugby players are eager to return to the pitch in September, Springbok wing Aphiwe Dyantyi faces a career-defining battle.

Just less than a year ago, Dyantyi sent shockwaves worldwide when he tested positive for a banned substance.

The 25-year-old’s mandatory B sample confirmed the presence of banned substances methandienone, methyltestosterone and LGD-4033.

Consequently, Dyantyi has been suspended from all forms of rugby and the 2018 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the year also missed the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

However, the Springbok wing vehemently denied all wrongdoing and submitted a statement of defence in January.

“I have never cheated and never will,” last year’s the 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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Dyantyi’s hearing was scheduled to take place in April, but the Irish Times reported that due to a backlog of cases and the closure of testing laboratories due to the outbreak of Covid-19, it has been delayed.

According to the SA Rugby magazine, the hearing will occur in Septemeber, after certain technicalities are agreed upon.

“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,” said Khalid Galant, the CEO of the South African Institute for drug-free sport (SAIDS) told the IrishTime 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.

“Initially we were supposed to have the hearing in early to mid-April but [Dyanti]had to have a couple of supplements analysed,”

“Unfortunately with the lockdown‚ labs who do the analysis of the supplements were closed‚ but I believe they have opened and we should be receiving the results of the supplements soon.

“The athlete sent a few supplements that he claimed could have been the source.”

The wing faces a four-year ban if found guilty.

Source: IrishTimes & SA Rugby magazine