Riccardo Moraschini on doping case: 'I lost one year of my career because of spray' / News - Basketnews.com

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Italian forward Riccardo Moraschini recently joined EuroCup team Reyer Venezia, but he hadn't played an official game since October of 2021 when he was stopped by the anti-doping court.

Riccardo Moraschini

Team:AX Armani Exchange MilanPosition:SGAge:31Height:194 cmWeight:99 kgBirth place:ItalyProfileNewsStatistics

Since then, Moraschini waited for the official sentence and fought for the truth regarding his case. His contract with Armani Exchange Milan was officially terminated, and the player was forced to re-think his whole career.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper 'La Repubblica,' Moraschini explained how he got in touch with the substance for which he was suspended, clostebol.

"It took two days to understand how I got in touch with that substance," Moraschini said. "My fiancee had cut her finger while she was cooking. To heal the wound, she used a spray that contained clostebol, and we had contact afterward. This was enough for the analysis to detect 0.5 nanograms of the substance."

Moraschini explained that no athlete would use clostebol voluntarily nowadays because it's extremely easy to be found once someone gets tested.

"No athlete today would use clostebol voluntarily," Moraschini said. "It's extremely easy to trace in analysis, and it only brings you an advantage if you use it in huge quantities, like the Soviet athletes used to do back in the 80s."

Moraschini was actually able to prove that everything happened by accident, but despite that, it was impossible for him to avoid a one-year suspension.

"I used the videos my fiancee had sent me of her finger, with the date they were recorded. The same prosecutor's office recognized that everything happened by accident. That's why I only got a one-year suspension, instead of a four-year one, which was the maximum sentence," Moraschini explained.

"It was a huge injustice, and I am very sorry that other athletes have to experience the same situation," Moraschini continued. "After the interlocutory suspension in October, the first instance decision came after two and a half months. And the appeal hearing took another month and a half. This is not fair. Fighting doping is good, but the means of it are not well managed."

Moraschini will return to practices with his team on August 20th, while on October 20th, he'll be able to be back to official games.

"The thing that tortured me the most was the time," Moraschini concluded. "The whole process has been exhausting."

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