Scott Salmond was sanctioned for two years ©Hockey Canada

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed a suspension of Hockey Canada vice-president of hockey operations Scott Salmond, after he was found to have obstructed a doping control officer from collecting a urine sample from a player.

Salmond was initially given a one-year ban by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), following an incident at the Channel One Cup in Moscow on December 12 in 2017.

The official was found to have prevented an “IIHF-appointed Doping Control Officer (DCO) from collecting a urine sample from a Team Canada player who was part of the IIHF Registered Testing Pool and therefore subject to out-of-competition testing,” the IIHF said.

The IIHF Disciplinary Board, following a review of the incident, determined that Salmond’s intervention and his strict orders to the player “established compelling justification according to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code Article 2.3 for the player not to submit to sample collection and that, therefore, the Player had not violated Code Article 2.3.”

Salmond was charged with a breach of WADA Code Article 2.9, which deems an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) to be “assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, conspiring, covering up or any other type of intentional complicity involving an anti-doping rule violation.”

Salmond appealed a one-year suspension issued by the IIHF Disciplinary Board, while the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA appealed for the suspension to be doubled.

CAS rejected Salmond’s appeal and upheld WADA’s appeal.

The IIHF said Salmond will remain ineligible for all ice hockey activity until May 31 of this year.

Scott Salmond failed in his appeal to CAS ©IIHF
Scott Salmond failed in his appeal to CAS ©IIHF

Salmond is suspended from any and all ice hockey activities and competitions involving an IIHF member national association, as well as being a member of an IIHF member national association or a professional league.

“The unique nature of this case, whereby a team official received an ADRV for complicity, led the IIHF to withhold the announcement of the suspension until after the appellate decision,” IIHF President René Fasel said.

“The IIHF did not expect however that the reasoned appellate decision would take such a lengthy amount of time to be obtained.

“Nevertheless, we agree with the decision reached by the CAS.

“The IIHF believes that all officials should be held to the same level of accountability and responsibility as players that participate in the World Championship and Olympic Games.

“In order to combat doping in sport, it is imperative that all stakeholders, from players to coaches to officials, support and show the utmost respect and cooperation for the anti-doping measures that have been put in place by the IIHF and WADA.”