Throughout history, people; In order to increase their athletic capacity, they sought ways to increase their body weight, mental concentration and physical strength, reduce fatigue and pain, and accelerate recovery (Lippi and Banfi, 2011).

Looking at the history of sports, athletes have tried to improve their performance with plants and various mixtures since ancient times, and these substances have been called ‘doping’.

There is no doubt that athletes resorting to artificial methods to increase their performance creates a situation that contradicts both ethical and legal rules.

The fact that the efficiency of people who use such substances is much higher than that of people who do not use them, contradicts the principle of equality, violates the notion of ‘fair play’, which has a very important place in sports, and causes unfair competition between competitors.

Various conferences are being held both in the world and in Turkey in order to prevent this situation, which has been continuing from past to present.

As an important step in this sense, the decisions taken at the conference on ‘Doping in Sports’ organized by the International Olympic Committee in 1999 had a remarkable impact on the prevention of doping.

In order to prevent doping, which is a common problem all over the world, an independent institution named World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established and rules named World Anti-Doping Code-2015 were prepared by the institution in order to effectively combat doping.

The relevant institution ensures that these rules are applied uniformly in all countries and keeps them up to date by making the necessary changes in response to changing conditions. In our country, the Turkish Anti-Doping Commission was established under the National Olympic Committee in accordance with the WADA Code.

Although the use of doping does not constitute a crime in terms of the Penal Code, heavy sanctions are imposed on athletes if it is detected to be used, and the implementation of these sanctions is ensured by the institutions established to combat doping and the codifications prepared by these institutions.

If doping use is detected, the trial process is carried out by the Disciplinary Board established by WADA internationally and by the Anti-Doping Commission in Turkey. The judging authority is the federation board to which the athlete who committed the violation is affiliated.

Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the Turkish Anti-Doping Directive stipulate sanctions for athletes, sports organizations and teams who are found to be using doping. These sanctions; These can be listed as disqualification from competitions, deletion of points, fines, and banning from tournaments.

However, it should also be noted that the principle of strict liability has been adopted in terms of the athlete’s responsibility. As a result of this, the presence of prohibited substances in the athlete’s body was considered sufficient for the relevant articles to be violated, and intent or negligence was not required in the athlete’s action.

If these substances are detected, the athlete is disqualified or his/her gains are taken back. However, the principle of strict liability of the athlete does not apply to the ban. Therefore, in order for an athlete to be banned, the existence of a fault is required.

As a result, the institutions established in our country and around the world to prevent the use of doping, which causes unfair results in sports competitions, and the regulations introduced by these institutions are of significant importance in terms of controlling the use of prohibited substances and ensuring the implementation of the necessary sanctions as a result and ensuring uniformity in anti-doping practices around the world.

Şefik ZİROĞLU & İlayda YILMAZ

SOURCE

https://www.olimpiyatkomitesi.org.tr

• ERKİNER, p.1358
• TEZONARICI, p.59
• Alparslan ŞİMŞEK, Strict Liability and Burden of Proof in Case of Anti-Doping Rule Violation