The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Dr. Lucas Penchel has accepted a two-year sanction for violating USADA-UFC policy.
In 2017 the Brazilian doctor provided intravenous infusions to UFC middleweight Paulo Costa and his brother Carlos Costa. The top 185lb contender said the IV was to help him recover from weight cuts and was prescribed by Dr Penchel. Although the IV consisted of legal substances the amounts administered were above the 50ml limit. As a result, the Costa brothers both received six-month bans from the sport.
For his role in the violation, Dr Penchel has been handed a two-year ban. USADA announced and explained their decision in a statement released on Monday evening, it read.
“Dr. Lucas Penchel, of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, has
accepted a two-year sanction for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC
ADP) resulting from his complicity in the administration and use of over-limit
intravenous (IV) infusions of permitted substances on June 2, 2017 and November
3, 2017 by Carlos Costa and Paulo Costa, respectively,” USADA officials wrote in
the statement.
“In 2017, IV infusions and/or injections
of more than 50 mL per 6-hour period were prohibited except for those
legitimately received in the course of hospital admissions, surgical
procedures, or clinical investigations under the UFC ADP. The UFC ADP has since
been amended and now prohibits IV infusions and/or injections of more than 100
mL per 12-hour period with the added exception of those determined to be
medically justified and within the standard of care by a licensed physician and
administered by a licensed medical professional.”
“Dr. Penchel, like all
athlete support personnel, was entrusted to help athletes make safe and
informed decisions, but instead, he violated anti-doping rules and his oath to
best protect athletes’ health and safety.”
Is it right for the doctor
to receive a ban four times more severe than the fighters?