Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport

Ottawa – July 10, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Costa Papanikolaou and Dimitrios Papanikolaou, two U SPORTS football athletes affiliated with McGill University, both received a sanction of 12 years for multiple anti-doping rule violations. The athletes’ urine samples, collected during in-competition doping control on October 23, 2021, and out of competition on October 13, 2022, all revealed the presence of SARM LGD-4033, a prohibited anabolic agent.

In response to the notification of an adverse analytical finding from the samples collected on October 23, 2021, the athletes requested a joint hearing to determine the violation and whether the proposed sanction periods should be eliminated or reduced. The CCES imposed a provisional suspension on December 17, 2021. At the athletes’ request, the provisional suspension was lifted on September 9, 2022, which is permitted under Rule 7.4.1 of the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP), whereby they were eligible to resume competition.

In response to the notification of the second adverse analytical finding from samples collected on October 13, 2022, the athletes again requested a joint hearing and that it be merged with the ongoing case to determine the violations, which Arbitrator Janie Soublière accepted. The CCES imposed a provisional suspension on November 17, 2022. On May 19, 2023, Arbitrator Soublière confirmed the violations and imposed a 12-year sanction on each athlete: four years each for the first violation and eight years each for the second violation. The sanctions are to be served consecutively and terminate on February 25, 2034.

During the sanction period, the athletes are ineligible to participate in any capacity with any sport signatory to the CADP, including training with teammates.

The full decisions can be found at www.crdsc-sdrcc.ca.

About the CCES

The CCES works collaboratively to ensure Canadians have a positive sport experience. Through its programs, the CCES manages unethical issues in sport, protects the integrity of Canadian sport, and promotes True Sport to activate values-based sport on and off the field of play. The CCES is an independent, national, not-for profit organization that is responsible for the administration of the CADP. Under the CADP rules, the CCES makes public every anti-doping rule violation. For more information, visit cces.ca, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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