French professional boxer Sofiane Khati serves three-month ban for Anti-Doping Rule Violation

ADRV
2025

French professional boxer Sofiane Khati has been banned from all World Anti-Doping Code-compliant sport for three months, following an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) for the Presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers. At the time of this announcement, Mr Khati has served his ban and has been eligible to participate in sport since 17 June 2025.  

UKAD collected a urine Sample from Mr Khati, In-Competition, following his fight against Nathan Heaney in Manchester on 8 February 2025. Analysis of Mr Khati’s Sample returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for carboxy-THC, a Metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol (‘THC’), the psychoactive compound found in cannabis. THC is a Specified Substance that is prohibited In-Competition only. It is identified as a Substance of Abuse in the 2025 WADA Prohibited List.  

UKAD notified Mr Khati of the AAF and imposed an immediate Provisional Suspension. The boxer admitted to ingesting cannabis Out of Competition, in the week prior to Sample collection.   

UKAD sought the opinion of an independent scientific expert in respect of Mr Khati’s explanation. The expert concluded that it was more likely than not that Mr Khati’s last ingestion of THC took place Out-of-Competition.  

In accordance with Article 10.2.4(a) of the UK Anti-Doping Rules (ADR), if an Athlete can establish that their ingestion or Use of a Substance of Abuse occurred Out-of-Competition and was unrelated to sport performance, the Athlete will be subject to a period of Ineligibility of three months.  

UKAD therefore charged Mr Khati with an ADRV pursuant to ADR Article 2.1 (Presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers) and asserted a three-month period of Ineligibility in accordance with ADR Article 10.2.4(a). 

In response, Mr Khati admitted the ADRV, accepting the asserted period of Ineligibility of three months.  

Affording him credit for the time spent provisionally suspended, Mr Khati’s three-month period of Ineligibility is deemed to have commenced on 17 March 2025 (the date on which the Provisional Suspension was imposed) and expired on 16 June 2025 at 11:59pm.  

 

Technical terms and more information  

  • The 2021 World Anti-Doping Code (The Code) and 2021 Prohibited List introduced the designation of particular Prohibited Substances as ‘Substance(s) of Abuse’. The Code sets out specific rules on how ADRVs related to a Substance of Abuse should be managed from 1 January 2021. Shorter bans of three months are available for such substances when present in a Sample collected In-Competition if ingestion is determined to have taken place Out-of-Competition and is unrelated to sports performance. A further reduction in the length of ban, down to one month, is available if an athlete satisfactorily completes a Substance of Abuse treatment programme approved by UKAD.  
  • UKAD’s ‘Substances of Abuse: Policy for determining approved treatment programmes’ can be found on our website. 
  • THC is classified as a Cannabinoid under section S8 of the 2025 WADA Prohibited List. It is a Specified Substance that is prohibited In-Competition only. THC is also identified as a Substance of Abuse in the 2025 WADA Prohibited List.  
  • Out-of-Competition refers to the period outside of competition, in this case, before 11:59pm on 7 February 2025.  
  • Please note, unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, capitalised terms used in this announcement have the meaning given to them in the UK Anti-Doping Rules and/or World Anti-Doping Code.