Johan Loncelle officially suspended for eight years

LAUSANNE - The UMB, the international billiards federation, has received the official notice from the disciplinary commission in the Netherlands, that the Belgian billiard player Johan Loncelle will be suspended for eight years after his second positive doping test. The penalty is applied immediately and was actually discussed at the time of the first statement in April this year. Loncelle has played in the Belgian league until this week for his team of 't Lammeken. He was already suspended for the Dutch league for this current season.

The Belgian was tested in the Netherlands, where he played for De Vrachtkar in Reusel, on 30 January this year during an away match in Oosterhout. The result of the test was that a small portion of the substance cocaine was descovered in his urine. It was the second time he was caught. For the previous offense, he was excluded for two years. In Belgium Loncelle already had been suspended before for three months because he did not show up for a match.

The UMB will send the information from the Dutch commission to all federations and confederations with the request to suspend the player all over the world. President Jean Claude Dupont of the UMB: ,,The decision is officially from November 29, but so far nobody was informed. Starting November 29, there is an opportunity to protest bij the CAS in Lausanne during 21 days. This period is now almost expired.''

The KNBB (Dutch Billard federation) was reported as first about the suspension, because the drug test has been done within this federation. Johan Loncelle himself was not officially notified at the moment. The board of the Dutch federation responds with a short message on the website. It states that, the appeals committee of the Institute for Sports Judiciary declared the appeal inadmissible and said that the decision of the disciplinary committee has been established. Johan Loncelle has been excluded from all activities organized under the auspices of the KNBB, including international events.'' The KBBB doesn't give further comment.

Johan Loncelle responded very short: ,,It is just a last convulsion of the UMB,'' he said. For a further response, he referred to Ad Manders. ,, I have an oath of secrecy, he's my lawyer.'' Manders is no official lawyer. ,,I didn't have the time to finish my studies'', he said.

The UMB has suspended never before a billiard player for eight years. Jean Claude Dupont: ,,The punishment is even more reduced: previously there was a lifetime suspension for such an offense. We have reduced it to eight years.''

Ad Manders reacted furiously this afternoon: ,,This statement is totally invalid. The KNBB is not even an official authority, because the federation is not registered, just like the football federation, the cycling union and the skating federation. They are not allowed to decide over suspensions.''

According to Manders was the dope test, for which Loncelle was found positive, even illegal. ,,They have decreased 61 milligrams of urine, while according to official doping rules 90 milligrams is required.''

,,Moreover'', he says, ,,it is such a ridiculously small amount, they have found, that this bit of cocaine in his urine could have come from having sex with a partner who had used cocaine.''

Manders announced a counter-attack: ,,First we will prove that the KNBB is not an official authority and not allowed to instruct for doping controls. Further the control has been done without the permission from the Vrachtkar, the team himself. That is against the rules. I tell you this: we shall go to court and put a claim of three and a half million euros. And before the new year, two people of the federal board will be seized properties and equipment.''

The Belgian federation is not impressed by that threat. President Reginald Depoorter: ,,When we had suspended Loncelle for three months, because he had overslept and he missed a match, his lawyer came to us with a claim of a half million Belgian francs, because of the right to work. I only laughed once and said: how are you going to prove it on the court. And what do you think that you have to pay on taxes, if you deserve that money by playing billiards?''

The league matches, which Loncelle played for his team in Belgium, probably maintain in the rankings. The player has not qualified for the Belgian championship early next year in Blankenberge, so there will be no further complications. ,,We wait for the official message of the UMB and then will suspend him'', said Depoorter.