RFU v Stephen Hihetah


RFU v Stephen Hihetah

A decision in the case of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) v Stephen Hihetah has been published by the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP).

On 21 February 2019 Stephen Hihetah, a player registered with Hull RFC and the RFU, provided a urine sample.  The urine sample returned Adverse Analytical Findings for two stanozolol metabolites, a metandienone metabolite and a tamoxifen metabolite. Mr Hihetah was subsequently charged on 12 June 2019 with an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) for breaching World Rugby Regulation 21.2.1 for the Presence of Prohibited Substances or their Metabolites or Markers.

Mr Hihetah admitted the ADRV but contested that the Presence of these substances in his system had not been intentional.  Having considered the evidence before them the NADP Tribunal, consisting of Jeremy Summers and Dr Mike Irani, determined that Mr Hihetah had failed to establish that he had not acted intentionally on the balance of probabilities.  The Tribunal imposed a period of ineligibility of 4 years, running from 12 June 2019 until midnight on 11 June 2023.

A copy of the full decision can be accessed via the related links tab on the right-hand side.

The National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) is the United Kingdom’s independent tribunal responsible for adjudicating anti-doping disputes in sport. It is operated by Sport Resolutions and is entirely independent of UK Anti-Doping who is responsible for investigating, charging and prosecuting cases before the NADP.

You may also like

View All

IOC to take over gender eligibility criteria previously managed by international federations

The new leader of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry, has announced that the committee will take over responsibility of gender eligibility criteria, acknowledging concerns about leaving the issue solely to international federations

Read More

Faith Kipyegon sparks discussion on sport integrity as she attempts to break the four-minute mile barrier using new, unapproved technology

Kenyan middle-to-long distance runner, Faith Kipyegon, is attempting to be the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes with the help of new, unapproved technology, sparking discussion on sport integrity and accessibility

Read More

World Athletics has established a Request for Proposal concerning shoe regulations

World Athletics has established a Request for Proposal covering two services that concern its athlete shoe regulations

Read More

Newsletter Signup

Please enter your email address below: