Doctor Of Paulo Costa Banned For Two Years
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?
