Video: Why Iannone has been banned for 18 months

Andrea Iannone is officially banned for 18 months following a lengthy investigation and FIM hearing into his anti-doping case.

Last November at the Malaysian MotoGP the Aprilia rider tested positive for a prohibited substance, with a B sample also coming up positive for the same Exogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroid called Drostanolone which is commonly used as a bodybuilding agent that athletes use in preparation for a competition.

Iannone’s lawyers argued - apparently successfully - that the quantity of Drostanolone was so small that unwitting consumption via contaminated meat in Asia was the likely explanation and Iannone’s team also presented evidence that analysis of a hair sample proved negative.

But the governing body has still opted to ban him for 18 months stretching back to his initial suspension on December 17 in line with when the first positive test result was announced.

Ultimately, the FIM Disciplinary Court upheld the results of the positive urine tests, but - according to Iannone and his Aprilia team - also believed his innocence as far as ingestion through contaminated meat.

The FIM ban will see the 13-time GP winner out of action until June 16 2021, but Iannone is expected to launch an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and has since taken to Instagram to give his side of the story, claiming he is the first athlete in history to be ‘judged innocent’ but still banned.

Do you believe Iannone’s innocence? And, is 18 months too harsh or not harsh enough? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.