Moroccan athletics federation refers Boulami's doping suspicion case to IAAF

The Moroccan Athletics Federation (FRMA) on Thursday decided to refer the case of Moroccan athlete Brahim Boulami, said to be used last August erythropoietine - a substance proven to substantially boost endurance , to the specialized commission of the world governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF.

A source at the Moroccan federation said the discipline committee does not possess all elements to rule on the case and has, therefore, decided to refer it to the specialized commission of the IAAF.

The Moroccan federation representative was banned from witnessing the opening of the second sample in the laboratory of Lausanne while the law authorizes the presence of a representative from the concerned federation.

"We ask the IAAF whose representative attended the 2nd inspection to rule on the case," said the Moroccan Federation source.

Boulami has protested his innocence of taking erythropoietine on August 15, the day before beating his own world record in Zurich with a time of 7min 53.17sec. "I will continue to defend my innocence and use all the legal procedures and if need be I will go to courts," he told MAP.

Boulami had slashed more than two seconds off his world record time in the 3,000 steeplechase on the Aug. 17 Weltklasse meet in Zurich, Switzerland.