{"id":459597,"date":"2021-01-15T10:52:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T17:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=459597"},"modified":"2021-01-15T10:52:35","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T17:52:35","slug":"swiss-court-dog-meat-tweets-by-arbitrator-led-to-sun-yang-appeal-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swiss-court-dog-meat-tweets-by-arbitrator-led-to-sun-yang-appeal-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss Court: Dog Meat Tweets by Arbitrator Led to Sun Yang Appeal Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Swiss Court that overturned Chinese swimmer Sun Yang\u2019s<\/strong> eight-year doping ban cited potential anti-Chinese bias by an arbitrator in its decision, according to a press release Friday.<\/p>\n

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht) in December overturned Sun\u2019s eight-year ban for doping<\/a>, which had been upheld in February by the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Sun appealed that decision to the Swiss court, citing tweets from 2018 and 2019 by Italian arbitrator<\/a> Franco Frattini<\/strong> that Sun alleged showed an anti-Chinese bias. The full Bundesgericht decision is available here<\/a> (pdf).<\/p>\n

The Bundesgericht\u2019s reasoning covers two aspects. First, it determined that Sun\u2019s appeal presented new information raised \u201cimmediately upon becoming known,\u201d fulfilling a statutory requirement.<\/p>\n

Second, the court agreed with the validity of Sun\u2019s claims that \u201cthe contested circumstances give rise to the appearance of partiality.\u201d At issue were since-deleted tweets<\/a> from Frattini, a former VP\/Commissioner of the European Union whose work has been on more than just sports, about animal cruelty. Specifically, Sun\u2019s case cited tweets in which Frattini\u2019s \u201cchoice of words and the repeated use of violent expressions is problematic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The posts discussed the Chinese practice of dog slaughter, the consumption of dog meat at traditional festivals in the country and referred to \u201cthe skin colour of certain Chinese people he targets.\u201d The remarks came after Frattini was appointed to the arbitration panel hearing Sun\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn view of all the relevant circumstances, the Federal Supreme Court therefore considered that the doubts as to the impartiality of the arbitrator were objectively justified,\u201d the court explained. \u201cThe CAS will therefore have to render a new award in a different composition of the panel in the doping case against Sun Yang.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sun was charged by the World Anti-Doping Agency for tampering with an anti-doping sample, including arguments with anti-doping officers and destroying a test sample in 2018. After initially being warned by a FINA Doping Panel in 2019, WADA imposed the far stiffer penalty, which was upheld by CAS.<\/p>\n

Until the case is heard again, Sun is eligible to return to competition, including, potentially, for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Sun is the reigning Olympic champion in the 200 freestyle and won gold in the 400 free and 1,500 at the 2012 London Games. He added a silver in the 400 in Rio. Tokyo will include the addition of the 800 free for the men, in which Sun won World Championships in 2011, 2013 and 2015, among 11 individual Worlds golds.<\/p>\n

Swimming World\u2019s coverage of Sun Yang & FINA Vs WADA At the Court of Arbitration for Sport<\/strong><\/p>\n