WADA is announcing new rules in the anti-doping code starting in 2027, with changes being made towards greater flexibility on involuntary use and possibly even introducing non-punishable minimum amounts.
Simona Halep paid dearly
After the Sinner and Swiatek cases, WADA is updating its anti-doping code, the changes of which will come into effect on January 1, 2027. The changes go in the direction of having more flexibility on the part of the agency regarding the circumstances of involuntary doping and infinitesimal amounts of substances prohibited detected by tests.
A few days ago, WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said: “Today there is a contamination problem. This does not mean that there are more cases of this kind than in the past, the fact is that laboratories are more efficient in detecting even infinitesimal amounts of substances. The amounts are so small that you can contaminate yourself by doing harmless things. The truth is that we hear a lot of stories and I understand the public opinion that can come to think that we take it all on“.
Remove the term “contaminated products”
Among the new features, the new definition of “contaminated source” stands out. Therefore, we will no longer talk about “contaminated products”. The term introduced, as explained by WADA, “is broader and includes sources of contamination such as food or drink, environmental contamination or exposure through contact with a third person or an object touched by a third person“.
In this way, Sinner’s case – the involuntary intake of clostebol through the massage of his physiotherapist who had treated himself with a spray containing the substance – would have been comparable on this point to that of Iga Swiatek, i.e. doping contamination by a legal product. Which, by finding the complete absence of negligence, can lead to a 100% reduction in disqualification.
The other novelty refers to the opening of a kind of list of minimum quantities of prohibited substances, within which no proceedings would be initiated against the athlete.
Thus, it can be seen that Simona Halep was the last athlete severely punished for contamination negligence. Swiatek and Sinner each received a one-month suspension.
