Sun Yang's lawyer blasts 'lies and false evidence' after eight-year doping ban

A lawyer for Sun Yang has blasted "lies and false evidence" after the swimmer was banned for eight years over a second doping violation.

The swimming career of Sun, a triple Olympic champion, will be over unless he can successfully appeal the ban imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). An appeal would take place in the Swiss Federal Court, with CAS the highest legal authority specifically within the sporting domain.

Beijing lawyer Zhang Qihuai said in a statement that Sun's appeal would be based on "a series of procedural errors". He claimed that Sun would sue a doping inspector who gave "false evidence".

Zhang also accused the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) - which appealed to CAS after swimming governing body FINA cleared Sun - of "distorting facts and abuse of power".

"February 28, 2020 was a dark day. It shows the scene where evil defeats justice and power replaces self-evident truths," Zhang said in the statement, per AFP.

"On this day, CAS listened to prejudice, turned a blind eye to rules and procedures, turned a blind eye to facts and evidence, and accepted all lies and false evidence."

Sun served a three-month doping ban in 2014 after testing positive to trimetazidine, a heart medication that improves the body's use of oxygen.

He was then investigated by FINA over a bizarre 2018 drug test, during which Sun smashed vials of his blood samples with a hammer and also destroyed a paper copy of his doping control form. Sun insisted that the doping control was carried out in shambolic fashion, by officers with inadequate accreditation.

FINA rebuked Sun for taking a "foolish gamble" with his career, but cleared him of a doping violation. That was not good enough for WADA, which appealed to CAS asking for a ban of between two and eight years.

CAS rocked swimming by unanimously opting for the maximum ban. Sun, a megastar in China who holds the 1500m world record, has maintained his innocence.

"This is unfair. I firmly believe in my innocence," Sun told Xinhua. "I will definitely appeal to let more people know the truth."

Sun's great rival Mack Horton, who branded the Chinese swimmer a "drug cheat" at the Rio 2016 Olympics and protested against him at last year's world championships, said that the ban was a win for clean sport.

"My stance has always been for a clean sport. It doesn't matter about nations or athletes. Nothing changes," Horton told Nine News.

"[The ban] doesn't really matter. I just keep getting on with the job, to be honest."