US Open: The spray that caused Jannik Sinner’s failed drug tests has ‘DOPING’ warning
ROME– The word “DOPING” is written in capital letters in a red circle with a line through it on the box of the over-the-counter spray sold in Italy that caused the deaths. The number 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner failed a drug test twice in March.
Sinner was acquitted last month and will play Jack Draper in the US Open semifinals Friday.
Trofodermin, which contains the banned substances anabolic steroid Clostebolis available over the counter in Sinner’s home country, where the 23-year-old’s personal trainer bought the drug that caused traces of Clostebol to appear in his test results.
This week, an Associated Press reporter bought a small can of Trofodermin for 14.50 euros ($16) at a pharmacy in Rome.
The product is intended for the treatment of cuts and abrasions and contains an underlined warning in Italian on the medication leaflet included in the box: “For those who practice sports: use of the medicine without therapeutic need is doping and may result in positive anti-doping tests.”
Giovanni Fontana, an Italian lawyer who represents athletes facing doping allegations, has worked on about 100 such cases in 30 years. Ten of his cases resulted from positive tests for Clostebol that were traced to Trofodermin; nine of those resulted in suspensions, Fontana said in an interview Thursday.
“When an athlete tests positive for Clostebol, the first thing I ask them is if they’ve taken Trofodermin,” Fontana said. “And if they haven’t, I tell them to check to see if a family member or partner has taken it, because it’s so easily transmitted.”
Sinner was not suspended for his positive tests after it was determined that Clostebol was inadvertently introduced into his system through a massage from his physical therapist, Giacomo Naldi. Sinner said his fitness trainer, Umberto Ferrara, had purchased Trofodermin in Italy and given it to Naldi for a cut on Naldi’s finger. Naldi then treated Sinner without wearing gloves.
Sinner said Before the US Open he fired Ferrara and Naldi.
“In my mind I know I’ve done nothing wrong,” Sinner said. “I always respect these rules — and I will always respect these rules — of anti-doping.”
Ferrara, who is also a qualified pharmacist, and Naldi have been by Sinner’s side during his rise, which included his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January and arriving at No. 1 in June.
According to Italian Law No. 376 of 2000, all products containing substances on the World Anti-Doping Organization’s prohibited list must carry the printed warning ‘DOPING’.
“But with Trofodermin, the brand is only on the box and not on the product itself,” Fontana said. “So if a family member buys the drug and throws away the box, there is a danger that the warning will not be seen.”
Fontana, who represented figure skater Carolina Kostner and cyclist Filippo Simeoni – one of Lance Armstrong’s first accusers – said Sinner could sue Ferrara and Naldi in Italy.
“It would become a civil case in which he would seek damages for the impact on his image, the legal costs and the fear and stress he had to deal with,” Fontana said.
WADA and Nado Italia, the Italian anti-doping agency, could appeal the decision in Sinner’s case. Nado Italia appealed all of the Clostebol and Trofodermin cases that Fontana worked on, the lawyer said.
Fontana also suggested that Nado Italia could initiate proceedings against Ferrara and Naldi, referring to the four-year ban handed to a club doctor at an Italian football club in 2018 for administering Trofodermin to a player.
In the United States, Clostebol is listed as a “controlled substance,” meaning the government considers the drug to have a potential for abuse and it can only be sold by prescription.
Clostebol is listed in the anabolic androgenic steroids section on page 5 of the WADA list. 24-page list of banned substances.
And “Clostebol” appears four times on the box of Trofodermin and can be purchased at the AP (the product is also available as a cream).
An investigation by the International Tennis Integrity Agency found that Sinner had traces of Clostebol in his system. He illustrated this point before the US Open began by using eight fingers to count the number of zeros before the “1” in the amount, .000000001.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis