Doping and sports discipline: what the athlete is risking

Published on June 26th, 2026

Strict liability is the phrase to start with, since everything else follows from it. In doping matters the athlete is responsible for whatever shows up in their body, almost regardless of how it got there, and that single rule changes the playing field compared with an ordinary criminal or civil case. It also covers far more ground than a positive test. The anti-doping regime sanctions a wide catalog of conduct, with short deadlines and consequences that can keep an athlete out of competition for years, and the difference is made by knowing the rules before a problem arises and moving fast when one does.

The duty the law puts on the athlete

The law imposes on the athlete an active duty to ensure that no prohibited substance enters their body and that they use no prohibited method. It then makes the athlete responsible for the mere detection of the substance, its metabolites or markers, with no need to prove intent or fault (article 19 of Organic Law 11/2021 of December 28th on the fight against doping in sport).

Good faith alone does not exonerate. A contaminated food supplement, a medicine taken without checking or a third party's advice will not remove the responsibility, though any of them can weigh heavily when the sanction is graded. That is why the best defense available is care and documentation kept in advance of what is taken, who prescribes it and what therapeutic use exemptions have been requested.

Violations beyond a positive test

The law treats a whole catalog of conduct as a violation, not only the presence of a substance (article 20 of Organic Law 11/2021):

• the use or consumption of prohibited substances or methods, even without a positive test;
• the evasion, refusal or failure to undergo a doping control;
• whereabouts failures: a violation arises when the athlete fails to meet their location obligations three times within twelve months, with no positive test required;
• the possession, administration or supply, and trafficking of prohibited substances or methods;
• complicity and prohibited association with sanctioned individuals.

The price of a violation

The typical consequence is suspension of the federation license, that is, being unable to compete. For the most serious cases the standard suspension is four years, which may be reduced (to two, for example) if the athlete proves that the violation was not intentional, and adjusted according to the degree of fault or negligence (article 21 of Organic Law 11/2021). A repeat offense increases the response and, at its most severe, can reach a permanent ban (article 28). For a professional a suspension drags contracts, sponsorships and at times the continuity of a career with it, and that is why every nuance capable of adjusting the sanction counts.

The Committee and the appeal route

The body that resolves doping disciplinary files is the Comité Sancionador Antidopaje (Anti-Doping Sanctioning Committee), a collegiate and independent body attached to the Spanish State Commission for the Fight against Doping in Sport (CELAD) (articles 46 and 47 of Organic Law 11/2021).

The Committee's sanctioning decisions, which should not be confused with ordinary sports discipline, exhaust the administrative channel and are appealed directly before the administrative courts (the contencioso-administrativa jurisdiction), with the option of a discretionary request for reconsideration before the Committee itself (article 49). They do not go to the Tribunal Administrativo del Deporte, which is the route for federation sports discipline and which, since Act 39/2022 of December 30th on Sport, only hears appeals against federation sanctions that entail the definitive deprivation, revocation or suspension of all the rights attached to the license (articles 114 and 120). Internationally, the World Anti-Doping Code also provides, in certain cases, the route of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS/TAS) in Lausanne.

How I approach it

As time and evidence are almost everything here, I review the sample's chain of custody and the testing procedure, organize from day one the documentation that can adjust the sanction, from prescriptions and therapeutic use exemptions to the traceability of what was taken, and keep an eye on deadlines that are especially short in this field. Although the outcome is not solely up to the lawyer, I concentrate on what I can control, which is building the defense with technical care and an eye for the particularities of sports justice.

If you have one of these cases on your hands, write to me in the first few days, which is often when they are won or lost. You can first see how I handle sports law matters, and the guide on sports justice shows where each decision ends up being appealed.

Editorial responsibility: Carles Jiménez, Spanish lawyer (Barcelona Bar No. 34.946). This note was prepared with the assistance of artificial-intelligence tools and reviewed and approved by the author before publication.

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