Rugby league player suspended for two years

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The Sports Tribunal has suspended rugby league player Darren Reiri for two years for the attempted use, and possession of, a prohibited substance he ordered over the internet from India.

Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFS) filed anti-doping proceedings against Reiri in October and a provisional suspension order was made on October 29. The tribunal held the substantive hearing last Thursday and issued its decision a day later.

Reiri, a club player from Queenstown who has since relocated to Christchurch, admitted the violations.

In May, 2013 he ordered the prohibited substance Anastrozole from a website in India. A package of tablets was dispatched to him but was intercepted by the Customs Department and referred to Medsafe who sent a letter to him advising the package had been intercepted.

Reiri didn't respond to the letter and in July 2013 re-ordered tablets from the website.

This second package was also intercepted. Medsafe then referred the matter to DFS.

Under the sport's anti-doping rules, the penalty is a two-year suspension. However, if Reiri was able to establish how the substance came into his possession and that he didn't intend to enhance his sports performance, he was eligible for a lesser penalty.

The main issue was whether Reiri could show he didn't intend to enhance his sports performance.

Reiri, 35, said he had been playing less rugby league and was concentrating more on working out in the gym and had decided to get bigger and more muscular. A friend advised him to use Anastrozole and gave him the supplier's details.

Reiri said he knew Anastrozole was supposed to enhance athletic performance but bought it to use in the gym, not to become a better rugby league player.

The tribunal agreed with DFS's position that: "An objective consideration of the circumstances and asking whether Mr Reiri took the substance to raise the level of his performance in sport was required; intent to cheat or not was irrelevant; the focus was on the connection between possession of the substance and performance in sport; and it was artificial to segregate performance improvement in body building from performance improvement in rugby league where becoming bigger and stronger would improve performance in either activity."

The tribunal concluded Reiri fell short of establishing he didn't intend to enhance his sport performance. It said in a statement: "Objectively viewed the explanations are not persuasive especially when Mr Reiri persisted with his attempted acquisition after his first try was foiled by Medsafe," the statement read.

"His failure to seek advice or check his position is inexcusable. He appeared to be willing to rely on the say-so of a friend who he did not want to identify but with regard to who Mr Reiri told the investigator the friend had told him "it was a good performance enhancing drug". Mr Reiri had a long involvement in the sport and a clear duty to be cautious. While because of his age and new priorities his degree of involvement in rugby league was lessening, the obligations remained even if it was for him more of a hobby than a sport."

The tribunal ordered the two-year suspension period start from February 1, 2014 to take in to account of the substantial delay in the matter being referred to the tribunal.