Jamie Singer -the lawyer who assisted Jannik Sinner in the path that led to the acquittal by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in the Clostebol case, when the Italian tested positive for one of the prohibited substances due to an involuntary contamination - has given an exclusive interview to the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, focusing on the appeal to the TAS in Lausanne presented by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
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Singer talked about the technical times relating to the new appeal and that should lead (in one sense or another) to a definitive conclusion on the matter. He, like the young Italian's staff, also appeared surprised by WADA's move, also stressing that the World Anti-Doping Agency believes that Jannik is responsible for the actions of his team and that, consequently, he should be punished
"No one accuses Jannik of taking advantage ofClostebolin his performances. For this reason it would be unfair to penalize him in the ranking or in his earnings. However, WADA believes that he is somehow responsible for the actions of his team and for this reason they are asking for punishment.
The suspension is the punishment they are asking for what they consider negligenceWe are all aware that Wada has the full right to take this action, it was possible to appeal and we know how complicated the work of monitoring doping and the integrity of the world of sport is. Having said that, we believe that the appeal was not really necessary.
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We were surprised too, to tell the truth. After Jannik was found positive for Clostebol in infinitesimal quantities, the International Tennis Integrity Agency understood the sensitivity of the case and turned to an expert independent tribunal instead of ruling directly. We hoped that the experience of the three specialists of the Sport Resolution Panel, and their well-substantiated and documented judgments, would have convinced the parties that the matter had been resolved correctly.
There are technical times that obviously must be respected and therefore we do not know when we will arrive at the definitive solution. We are waiting to receive all the details of the WADA appeal. Tas will then define the judging panel and decide the date of the hearing. We hope to be able to close in a few months," he explained.
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