MotoGP rider faces four-year suspension due to contaminated food

MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone has taken a hard blow, which may well be the end of his MotoGP career. Today, he was told that his appeal against the decision to suspend him for doping use was dismissed, and even extended from eighteen months to four years.

The Italian rider was suspended by the FIM at the end of last year when he was found to have tested positive for a banned steroid at the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend.

At a hearing in March, the FIM decided that the suspension would last for a year and a half, which meant that he could no longer come in action on track this year. However, it was established that he had inadvertently ingested the illegal substance through contaminated food.

Iannone appealed against this decision, partly because other athletes were acquitted of similar incidents. However, this appeal was rejected, and the suspension was increased to the maximum period of four years, with retroactive effect to November 1, 2019.

Iannone states in a statement on his Instagram page that it feels like his "heart has been ripped" from his greatest love. He also indicates that he has suffered the greatest injustice he could ever have imagined, and that he has no intention of giving up.