Paris, September 26, 2017 – The French Anti-Doping Agency (Agence française de lutte contre le dopage, or AFLD) takes note of today’s World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s decision, announced today, to provisionally suspend its Analysis Department.

WADA, which has responsibility for the accreditation of all anti-doping laboratories across the world, took this measure after having been informed by the
Châtenay-Malabry laboratory itself of a dysfunction that occurred in exceptional circumstances as part of the analysis process.

Appropriate remedial actions were immediately taken and all potentially affected samples were retested. No further anomalies were found as a result.

The suspension decided by WADA is a temporary precaution that has already been recently imposed on several other anti-doping laboratories. Once WADA has duly verified that all risks have been eliminated, the suspension will be lifted.

Current circumstances illustrate the exacting demands faced by WADA-accredited
anti-doping laboratories as well as WADA’s determination, shared by all laboratories and
anti-doping organizations, to ensure an irreproachable level of reliability in results. As such, it must be pointed out that no athlete has been erroneously disciplined subsequent to an Adverse Analytical Finding established by the AFLD’s Analysis Department.

France benefits from an efficient and high-quality anti-doping system, which will only be strengthened by the coordinated work that will be carried out in the days to come by the staff of the Châtenay-Malabry laboratory and WADA scientists.

The Testing Department of the AFLD is not concerned by WADA’s decision and will continue to operate in normal conditions.

Athletes can rest assured that the AFLD will ensure that their rights are respected and will make every effort to continue to protect the integrity of sport competitions in France.

 

Press contacts:

Steele & Holt

Email : afld@steeleandholt.com

Daphné Claude : 06 66 58 81 92 / Servane Taslé : 06 66 58 84 28