LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) could not consider a two-year worldwide ban for Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde, currently barred from racing in Italy, it said Thursday.
CAS said the request from the International Cycling Union (UCI) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) fell outside the jurisdiction of a three-day hearing which finished Thursday.
"The Panel considered that the requests filed by UCI and WADA to suspend Alejandro Valverde worldwide for a period of two years could not be entertained by the CAS given that they were outside the scope of the present arbitration procedure," CAS said in a statement.
Valverde is appealing to CAS against Italy's decision to ban him last May for alleged links to the Operation Puerto anti-doping investigation. CAS said a final decision is due in March.
(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Ken Ferris)
