The case revolves around Nikola Radjen, a Serbian water polo player, who faced doping violations after testing positive for cocaine metabolites during two in-competition matches in 2015. The first test occurred on February 17 during a Serbia-Spain match, and the second on April 14 during a match against Russia. Both tests revealed the presence of benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methylester, classified as Non-Specified Stimulants under the 2015 WADA Prohibited List. Radjen waived his right to open the B samples and admitted to the violations, attributing his actions to personal struggles following his father's sudden death and poor performance with his club team, Olympiacos in Athens. The legal issue centered on whether Radjen intended to cheat, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel concluding that his cocaine use, prohibited only in-competition, was unrelated to performance enhancement and thus lacked intent to cheat. Radjen sought reduced sanctions under the principle of No Significant Fault or Negligence, citing depression, but failed to provide sufficient medical evidence or expert testimony to support his claim.
FINA initially handled the case, imposing provisional suspensions and referring it to the FINA Doping Panel. Radjen cooperated by waiving hearings and submitting written statements, including public apologies and explanations of his personal circumstances. The panel treated both violations as a single first violation, as the second occurred before Radjen received formal notice of the first. Despite acknowledging his personal struggles, the panel emphasized they did not absolve him of responsibility under anti-doping regulations. Radjen publicly admitted his offense during a congress in Belgrade, sharing videos and transcripts of his confession with FINA, but the panel imposed a four-year suspension starting May 7, 2015, disqualifying all results from February 17 onward. The panel found no grounds for leniency, as Radjen failed to provide specific details about his doping or expose other violations, which could have qualified for reduced sanctions under FINA rules.
Radjen appealed to CAS in September 2015, but proceedings were delayed due to the death of an arbitrator in January 2016. A replacement was appointed, and the hearing was rescheduled. During the hearing, Radjen's teammate testified that strict team controls made it impossible for him to use cocaine during competitions, supporting Radjen's claim that his use occurred outside the in-competition period. Radjen admitted to using cocaine twice in Belgrade, attributing it to depression and social influences, but acknowledged he knew it was prohibited. The CAS panel questioned why Radjen had not provided these details earlier to FINA, to which he responded that he relied on advice from the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAS). FINA argued that Radjen's delayed disclosure undermined his case and maintained that a minimum two-year ban was warranted due to his experience and repeated violation.
The CAS panel ultimately ruled that Radjen's violation was not intentional, as his cocaine use was unrelated to sports performance, and reduced his sanction to two years under Article 10.2.2 of the FINA Doping Control rules. The panel rejected his depression claim due to insufficient evidence and dismissed his argument that the WADA Prohibited List was misleading. The panel also criticized ADAS for improperly assisting Radjen instead of referring him to legal counsel, creating a conflict of interest. The two-year ineligibility period was set to start from February 17, 2015, with no credit for the provisional suspension, and all competitive results from that date were disqualified. Individual awards from the matches where he tested positive were forfeited, though the Serbian national team's results remained unaffected. The CAS decision highlighted the strict application of anti-doping regulations while balancing considerations of intent and individual circumstances.