Two McGill University football players have been handed lengthy bans.
Costa Papanikolaou and his brother Dimitrios of the McGill Redbirds have each been issued a 12-year ban by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) for multiple anti-doping rule violations.
The Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) recently released details of the doping tribunal.
According to a report from the CCES, both U Sports athletes were found to have used a prohibited substance called SARM LGD-4033. The violations were discovered in urine samples collected in October 2021 and October 2022.
Known otherwise as Ligandrol, SARM LGD-4033 is a selective androgen receptor modulator that mimics the activity of testosterone in the body, which can increase muscle mass and boost athletic performance. It is currently banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The Papanikolaou brothers initially challenged the findings but were suspended in December 2021. They managed to have the suspension lifted in September 2022, but a second finding in October 2022 led to another hearing.
The arbitrator in the case verified the offences in May 2023 and gave each athlete a 12-year suspension, divided into four years for the first violation and eight years for the second.
The bans remain in place until February 2034.
As a result, the two siblings are ineligible to participate in any sport governed by the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP), including practicing with their teammates.
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