Sports law
Published on 26 June 2026
In doping matters, the starting point is harsh: the athlete is responsible for whatever shows up in their body, almost regardless of how it got there. This is known as strict liability, and understanding it properly is the first step in any defence, because it changes the whole playing field compared with an ordinary criminal or civil case.
We are not talking only about a positive test. The anti-doping regime sanctions a far wider range of conduct, with short deadlines and consequences that can keep an athlete out of competition for years. Knowing the rules before a problem arises, and reacting quickly when it does, makes the difference.
The law places an active duty on the athlete: to ensure that no prohibited substance enters their body and that they use no prohibited method. And it makes them 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 28 December on the fight against doping in sport).
In practice this means that good faith alone does not exonerate. A contaminated food supplement, a medicine taken without checking, a third party's advice: none of that removes the responsibility, though it can weigh heavily when the sanction is graded. That is why care and prior documentation (what is taken, who prescribes it, what therapeutic use exemptions have been requested) are the best defence.
The law treats a whole catalogue of conduct as a violation, not only the presence of a substance (article 20 of Organic Law 11/2021):
The typical consequence is suspension of the federation licence, 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 offence increases the response and, at its most severe, can reach a permanent ban (article 28).
For a professional, a suspension is not only sporting: it drags contracts, sponsorships and, at times, the very continuity of a career with it. That is why every nuance that adjusts the sanction counts.
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).
It is worth not confusing this route with ordinary sports discipline: the Committee's sanctioning decisions 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, therefore, to the Tribunal Administrativo del Deporte, which is the route for ordinary sports discipline. At the international level, moreover, the World Anti-Doping Code provides, in certain cases, the route of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS/TAS) in Lausanne.
In these matters, time and evidence are almost everything. I review the sample's chain of custody and the testing procedure, organise from day one the documentation that can adjust the sanction (prescriptions, therapeutic use exemptions, traceability of what was taken) and keep an eye on deadlines that are especially short here. I do not promise outcomes: I offer a prepared defence, alert to the technical detail and to the particularities of sports justice.
If you are facing a file of this kind, you can read how I handle sports law matters, or write to me for an initial assessment.
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