Richard Gasquet has escaped a doping ban after being cleared of any wrongdoing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Frenchman cleared of doping as "cocaine kiss" case is thrown out
French tennis player Richard Gasquet has escaped a doping ban after being cleared of any wrongdoing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Appeals by the World Anti-Doping Agency and International Tennis Federation calling for Gasquet to be suspended for up to two years for testing positive for the cocaine were dismissed by the Lausanne-based court.
The CAS panel accepted Gasquet's story that he inadvertently consumed the drug by kissing a woman in a Miami nightclub hours after withdrawing injured from a tournament last March.
"The player has been exonerated from any fault or negligence and the CAS has dismissed the appeals filed by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) and WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency)," said CAS in a statement.
"On a balance of probability, the CAS panel concluded that it was more likely than not that the player's contamination with cocaine resulted, as Gasquet always asserted, from kissing a woman in a nightclub in Miami on the day before the anti-doping test."
Satisfied
The panel were also satisfied by Gasquet's explanation as to why traces of cocaine metabolite were found in his urine sample.
"The panel based its ruling on the evidence provided by the experts called by both the player and the ITF, who agreed that the amount of cocaine metabolite was so minute that it must have reflected incidental exposure, rather than use in the amounts commonly taken by social users of cocaine," the statement continued.
"Furthermore, it was also established that the player was clearly not a regular cocaine user, even in very small amounts. As a consequence, the possibility of contamination became the most plausible explanation justifying the presence of cocaine metabolite in the player's urine.
"On a balance of probability, the CAS panel concluded that it was more likely than not that the player's contamination with cocaine resulted, as Gasquet always asserted, from kissing a woman in a nightclub in Miami on the day before the anti-doping test and that the player had met the required standards of proof with respect to the way of ingestion."
The 23-year-old was found with the drug in his system at the Sony Ericsson Open in Florida in March of this year and was hit with a provisional 12-month ban.
The world number 52 had already served a two and a half month suspension before an independent ITF tribunal cleared him of charges on the grounds that the woman had contaminated him with cocaine.
He was relieved that his ordeal was finally over and that he has been exonerated.
"I am totally relieved," he said. "It was a crazy story and I went through a nightmare for eight months.
"I thought I had more chances to win grand slams, to beat (Rafael) Nadal at Roland-Garros and (Roger) Federer at Wimbledon than to be tested positive/
"I am happy to be a hundred per cent cleared. It was very difficult for me, I'm glad it's over."
Dismayed
The WADA and ITF were dismayed by the court's ruling.
"WADA considered that the evidence warranted full and total scrutiny," said WADA director-general David Howman in a statement.
"WADA abides by the CAS ruling and has no further comment at this stage."
ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti admitted the federation was "disappointed" with the verdict.
"The ITF also recognizes the potential implications of the CAS decision with respect to future decisions and will discuss these with WADA," he said.
CAS have ruled that the ban should not count as a doping offense on Gasquet's record.
