Geneva (AFP)

Chinese doping swimmer Sun Yang, who faces up to eight years of suspension after an incredible check, will not be released until mid-January due to translation problems, the court said. (TAS).

"Concerns have been expressed" concerning the translation from Chinese to English of the testimony of the triple Olympic champion, a star in Asia, during his public hearing on November 15, said TAS, which is based in Lausanne (Switzerland) in a statement.

If "the organization and timing of the public hearing satisfied the Umpires and the lawyers of the parties, concerns were expressed about the quality of the translation of the testimony" of Sun Yang, said the CAS.

"The parties are currently preparing an agreed written transcript of the proceedings, including an exhaustive translation of Mr. Yang's testimony, which will be used by the jury to deliberate and prepare the arbitral verdict," detailed CAS. He said the case would not be settled until mid-January.

The debates at the swimmer's hearing, the first open to the public in 20 years, had been disrupted by technical and linguistic problems.

On several occasions, while Sun was being questioned at the beginning of the hearing, the lawyers of the various parties and the three judges had had to rest their questions.

To questions asked in English, Sun answered in Mandarin, to be translated into English by two interpreters.

The translation was provided by a private service provided by the Sun Yang camp and accepted by both parties, said the CAS, which could not use its own interpreters for reasons of "independence and neutrality".

An anti-doping committee report from the International Swimming Federation (Fina), written in January, confirmed that Sun had destroyed in September 2018, with the help of a bodyguard, his own blood sample with a hammer during an unannounced check.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed to the CAS after Fina had cleared Sun Yang on a technicality violation, allowing the 27-year-old swimmer to compete at the Gwangju World Cup in Korea. South, end of July, where several swimmers showed their dissatisfaction with his presence.

This Chinese swimming star had already been suspended in 2014 for the use of a banned product.

© 2019 AFP