Simran Chand 
Inoke Turagalailai [Source: Suva FA/Facebook]
Former Fiji rep and Suva defender Inoke Turagalailai will be out of the 2025 football season as he continues his suspension until December 2025.
He has received a two-year ban from all competitive sports, following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that extends an earlier period of ineligibility.
Turagalailai, who was representing the Fijian Men’s National Under 23 football team at the Oceania Football Confederation Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in New Zealand, underwent an in-competition doping test on September 9, 2023.
His sample revealed the presence of cannabis which Turagalailai admitted to using on the morning of the match day.
Originally, on July 3, 2024, the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand banned Turagalailai for eight months.
This ban started on December 14, 2023, so he was expected to be back playing by August 14, 2024.
However, the Sport Integrity Commission, formerly Drug Free Sport New Zealand, filed an appeal with the CAS on July 24, 2024.
They argued that the eight-month ban was too short and unfair.
They believed the Sports Tribunal was wrong to use its own judgment to reduce the standard two-year ban, which is set by the Sports Anti-Doping Rules (SADR) for these types of violations.
The CAS, acting as the sole arbitrator in the appeal, reviewed the facts and the law.
In its final award, the CAS upheld the Sport Integrity Commission’s appeal and set aside the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand’s decision.
While Turagalailai had recently started playing for Suva FC in Fiji in May, having effectively served his initial eight-month ban, this extended ruling means he will now have to serve the remainder of the two-year period, with his ineligibility now extending until December 2025.
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