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Egyptian Taekwondo Athlete Caroline Maher Cleared of All Anti-Doping Charges

Court of Arbitration for Sport Dismisses All Claims and Orders World Taekwondo Federation to Pay $20,000 For Maher's Legal Fees

Portland, Maine (February 3, 2012) – Preti Flaherty, a law firm headquartered in Portland, Maine, announced today that The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that all charges against Caroline Maher, an Egyptian Taekwondo athlete who was sanctioned for alleged anti-doping rules violations, have been dismissed. The CAS ordered the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) to pay $20,000 for Maher's legal fees and expenses incurred during the arbitration proceedings, an extraordinary result by CAS standards.  The WTF must pay Ms. Maher the $20,000 within 30 days.

In November of 2011, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) withdrew an indefensible two-year sanction it levied against Maher for alleged anti-doping rules violation.  The WTF made the decision on the eve of a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing scheduled to take place in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The CAS Panel noted the unusual circumstances surrounding Ms. Maher's appeal in justifying its punitive decision.  The WTF suspended Ms. Maher for two years without any reliable evidence or an internal hearing.  In doing so, the WTF failed to live up to its duties as an internationally recognized sports federation under the World Anti-Doping Code (the "Code").

The Panel, chaired by famed English barrister the Honorable Michael J. Beloff MA QC, emphasized that it was of vital importance for an international federation to ensure that "any athlete charged with a doping violation be accorded the full procedural protection guaranteed by the [Code]."

Background on the case: Attorney Paul Greene, a sports law attorney with Preti Flaherty, appealed the WTF's decision on behalf of Maher to the CAS.  During the CAS proceeding, the WTF was exposed for denying Maher multiple fundamental rights, including the right to a fair hearing and the right to see the evidence relied upon by the WTF in banning her for two years.  The WTF did not release Maher's unreliable test results until the week before the scheduled hearing under order of the CAS Panel.  The WADA lab report seriously questioned the integrity of the urine samples and was highly skeptical of the results.  Under duress, the WTF withdrew Maher's suspension since it was apparent that her suspension could not be defended.

Maher, 25, was born in Egypt and began competing in the sport of Taekwondo at 10 years of age. She narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008 and has been focused on representing Egypt in the London 2012 Olympic Games. In December of 2010, Maher was directed to report for Out-of-Competition drug testing to be performed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).  Maher was ill with a common cold at the time of the testing and reported the medicines prescribed by her family doctor (none of which were banned Out-of-Competition) to the WADA Doping Control Officer. Five months after being testing, Maher was told that her A Sample had apparently tested positive for steroids. Her B Sample was never tested.  In August, Maher was informed that she had been banned for two years for an anti-doping violation without a hearing.

About the Preti Sports Law Group

The Preti Sports Law Group is devoted to the protection of athletes' rights worldwide.  It handles anti-doping matters and a multitude of other cases that involve athletic disputes. 

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