UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
Onside Law 642A Kings Road London SW6 2DU UK
Tel: +44 20 7384 6920 Fax: +44 20 3627 4555 Email: Jamie.singer@onsidelaw.co.uk Web: www.onsidelaw.co.uk
1. Regulatory 1.1 Anti-Doping UKAD
ber 2022. All sports have been required to review and update their own rules to ensure compli - ance. The Code is currently undergoing a Stake - holder Consultation Phase, with major changes to be implemented in 2027. Presently, one of the changes involves a change between intentional use and unintentional use, and a change in the period of ineligibility accordingly. As the Code is still in the approval stages, it is yet to be seen which updates will actually come into force. One change that came into force in 2021 relates to recreational substances (eg, cannabis and cocaine) where significantly lower sanctions are now possible if an athlete can demonstrate the usage was recreational and outside competi - tion. Athletes with an existing sanction for use of recreational substances may be entitled to a review. Although this was reviewed again in the latest code, it was confirmed that cannabis would remain on the list. Often, when updates on prohibited substances that have been monitored for a while come into force, WADA will allow for sufficient time to com - municate and educate on the rule change. For example, Tramadol was prohibited during com - petition as per the 2023 code. However, the
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) is the national anti-dop - ing association in the UK and is responsible for producing regulations (UKAD Regulations) that comply with the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA Code) and implementing those at national level. The UKAD Regulations often serve as a tem - plate for sports governing bodies in the UK to adopt for their particular sport. Many simply adopt them in their entirety, while higher-profile sports such as football and cricket amend them, in consultation with UKAD, for their own specific needs. Participants in any sport will be required to com - ply with both UKAD Regulations and those pro - duced by their own sport. UKAD is also respon - sible for carrying out testing, managing results and presenting cases regarding many of the alleged breaches within UK sport. WADA A new version of the WADA Code came into force on 1 January 2023, having been approved by WADA’s executive committee on 23 Septem -
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