LAUSANNE, Switzerland, December 27. RECENTLY, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned Ukrainian coach Mykhaylo Zubkov's lifetime ban by a FINA disciplinary panel, and reduced the suspension to eight months according to reports by The Herald Sun. The eight-month suspension was retroactive, and ended today.
"It's a huge relief," Zubkov told The Herald Sun. "I feel my name has been cleared."
Zubkov had originally been banned after an altercation with his daughter, Kateryna, at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne. During the course of an argument at the pool about his daughter's love life, the two entered into a physical confrontation with the father trying to restrain his daughter physically.
According to reports by The Herald Sun, CAS found that while the court did not agree with the physical conduct of Zubkov, the fact that "he had not hit or otherwise assaulted his daughter" played a part in reducing his suspension.
For more on the incident as well as the recent suspension reduction, check out the following links:
Full text of March 27, 2007 SwimmingWorldMagazine.com report on incident.
Full text on March 28, 2007 SwimmingWorldMagazine.com report on suspension.
Full text of The Herald Sun report.