Lynch fails to get suspension lifted

SHOW JUMPER Denis Lynch’s hope that his suspension would be temporarily lifted were dashed by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

Lynch appeared before an FEI tribunal in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Saturday and argued his case concerning the discovery of the banned substance capsaicin in the gelding Lantinus at the Olympics.

While Lynch later said he got a fair hearing, yesterday the FEI said the tribunal had opted not to grant him a temporary reprieve.

In a statement, the FEI said: “The tribunal gave Lynch a timeline that allows for additional correspondence between the parties and said it expected to reach a decision by September 30.”

The ruling is a blow to Ireland, which would have been boosted by the return of Lynch for the Samsung Super League final on Sunday week in Barcelona.

The tribunal’s decision regarding Lynch may have been affected by the case of Bernardo Alves, whose horse Chuppa Chup was among the five show jumpers to test positive for capsaicinoids at the Olympics.

On Friday, the Brazilian appeared before the tribunal and was informed they were lifting the suspension. However, the FEI legal counsel lodged a formal objection and, yesterday, the FEI said the tribunal had reversed its decision.

In its statement, the FEI said: “Further to additional pleadings filed by the FEI, in which the FEI argued that the provisional suspension should be maintained in the interests of the sport, the tribunal modified its interim decision.”

Alves’s legal counsel Monika Gattiker described the whole process as farcical.

“It is amazing that they can announce one thing on Friday and another on Monday, without giving Mr Alves an opportunity to respond,” she said.

“We will file a protest with the FEI for an immediate lifting of the suspension and are also planning to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS),” said Gattiker, who is also representing Jessica Kuerten.

German-based Kuerten is waiting for CAS to set a date for an appeal against the FEI. The federation suspended her for two months following the discovery of a banned medication in the horse Castle Forbes Maike, but CAS subsequently ordered the FEI to lift the suspension until it made a finding in the case.