Andrea Iannone condemns drugs ban after ‘being judged innocent’

A devastated Andrea Iannone has spoken out after being handed an 18-month ban for doping despite insisting it was accepted he had ingested a prohibited substance unintentionally.

Iannone has been banned from competition since December after it was discovered he had tested positive for the banned sterioid drostanolone during the Malaysian MotoGP round. When his B sample came back positive, he took his case to the International Disciplinary Court, arguing the substance was ingested involuntarily via contaminated meat in Malaysia.

However, on Wednesday [1 April 2020] it was announced Iannone would need to serve an 18-month suspension despite Iannone claiming the FIM governing body accepted he didn’t take anything knowingly.

Expected to launch an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Iannone took to Instagram to slam the decision to find him guilty when it is accepted he was ‘innocent’ of doing anything premeditated.

“Months have passed since this sad story began and I confess that every day seemed like a year,” Iannone wrote on his Instagram account.

“Being judged innocent certainly does not leave me happy because, for the first time in history, an athlete is judged innocent and at the same time sentenced to 18 months for taking contaminated food out of his control. And I will not stop before this sentence because it will never happen again for anyone else.

“Despite the suffering of having to walk an impervious and not chosen path, unjustly, I decided to continue my every step in silence.

“My silent suffering, however, has so far hidden all that this affair has taught me: nothing is taken for granted and everything can change in a second.”

 

 

 

 

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Sono passati mesi da quando questa triste storia è iniziata e vi confesso che ogni giorno mi è parso un anno. Essere giudicato innocente non mi lascia certo felice poiché, per la prima volta nella storia, un atleta viene giudicato innocente e allo stesso tempo viene condannato a 18 mesi per aver assunto cibo contaminato fuori dal proprio controllo. E non mi fermerò davanti a questa sentenza perché non dovrà succedere mai più per nessun altro. Nonostante la sofferenza di dover percorrere un cammino impervio e non scelto, ingiustamente, ho deciso di continuare ogni mio passo in silenzio. La mia sofferenza silenziosa, però, ha nascosto fino ad oggi tutto quello che questa vicenda mi ha insegnato: nulla è scontato e tutto può cambiare in un secondo. Mi porto dietro però anche tante note positive, come il vostro affetto o l’aver potuto valutare persone e fatti in modo più maturo. Proprio così, nonostante tutto oggi sono più maturo e consapevole del vostro affetto. Non mi avete lasciato mai e mi avete accompagnato in ogni momento di questo triste e duro percorso. Ecco perché affronterò il mio futuro ricordando per sempre questi momenti, cercando di essere la forza che io ho avuto: donando il meglio di me agli altri. Nel ringraziare tutti voi che mi siete stati accanto, però, rivolgo la mia riconoscenza anche ai miei amici, alla mia famiglia e a mio padre in particolare, a tutto il Team @aprilia, a Massimo Rivola e a tutti i miei sponsor che non mi hanno mai abbandonato. Oltre al mio ringraziamento, inoltre, rivolgo tutta la mia stima al mio avvocato, Antonio De Rensis che mi è stato accanto in ogni momento come un padre fa con i propri figli. A tutti voi, sarò per sempre grato. Andrea

A post shared by Andrea Iannone (@andreaiannone) on Apr 1, 2020 at 10:59am PDT

Is this the end of Andrea Iannone’s career?

This is a devastating blow to Iannone after people around him – Aprilia, lawyers – spoke with confidence that they had presented a watertight case to exonerate him.

However, ignorance isn’t a defence often accepted by WADA and the ban – which could have been as much as four years – ultimately reflects this.

The length of suspension as it stands would take him right up to midway through the 2021 season and while Aprilia has stood by its man, it’s hard to see how they could factor him into their future considering his contract was already coming to an end at the close of the season. 

Iannone is expected to appeal the ruling but this could take a number of months alone, while forming a case is risky because WADA could also push for a lengthier sentence