First ISL player banned: ATKMB player Ashutosh Mehta fails dope test, handed two-year ban

Mehta
tested
positive
for
morphine
(narcotics)
—
specified
substance
—
in
the
in-competition
test
conducted
on
February
8
during
an
ISL
match
played
in
Goa.

The
31-year-old
player
accepted
provisional
suspension,
which
was
optional
in
his
case,
on
June
24.
Mehta
pleaded
that
he
did
not
have
the
intention
to
consume
narcotic
substance
and
he
wanted
the
benefit
of
substantial
assistance
clause.

In
the
his
defence,
he
claimed
that
a
teammate
of
his
“allegedly
administered
him
with
opium,
a
source
of
morphine
in
the
form
of
‘Kaala
Daba’
(literally
translating
to
‘Black
Medicine’)
in
pretext
of
it
being
an
Ayurvedic
Medicine”.

“…it
is
held
that
the
athlete
has
violated
Art
2.1
and
2.2
of
NADA
ADR
2021.
Furthermore,
the
panel
is
of
the
view
that
the
anti-doping
violation
was
unintentional…,”
the
panel
headed
by
Chaitanya
Mahajan
said
in
the
order.

“We
accordingly
hold
that
the
athlete
is
liable
for
a
period
of
ineligibility
of
two
years.”

The
Panel
directed
that
Mehta
be
given
credit
of
his
provisional
suspension.
Former
India
goalkeeper
Subrata
Pual
was
handed
a
provisional
suspension
by
the
NADA
in
2017
after
for
testing
positive
for
a
prohibited
substance
in
an
out-of-competition
test
conducted
during
a
national
camp
but
was
later
let
off
with
a
warning
after
he
was
able
to
prove
that
his
dope
violation
was
not
intentional.

At
that
time,
Paul
was
playing
for
an
I-League
club
DSK
Shivajians
although
he
had
played
in
the
ISL
the
previous
year.