The International Ski Federation (FIS) has issued two-year bans
to three Austrian cross-country skiers barred by the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) in April.
In a statement on Thursday, FIS said Roland Diethard, Johannes
Eder and Martin Tauber had committed anti-doping rule violations
following raids on team hotels at the 2006 Winter Games in
Turin.
The three skiers, along with team-mate Juergen Pinter, were
given lifetime bans from the IOC after the raids uncovered blood
transfusion equipment at their lodgings.
FIS said that the allegations against Pinter had been dismissed
by their own doping panel "since they did not meet the standard of
proof required to sanction the athlete according to the FIS
anti-doping rules."
The federation said Eder had violated FIS rules concerning the
use or attempted use of a prohibited substance or method and the
possession of prohibited substances and methods.
Diethard and Tauber were found to have committed the latter
offence.
FIS said that all three could appeal within three weeks to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Diethard, Eder, Tauber and Pinter have already appealed to CAS
over the original sanction handed down by the IOC.
Two members of the Austrian Olympic biathlon team, Wolfgang
Rottmann and Wolfgang Perner, were also given lifelong bans by the
IOC but had already announced their retirement from the sport.
(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2007)