Alberto Salazar has formally lodged an appeal against his four-year ban from athletics to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the ruling body has confirmed.
Salazar, along with Dr Jeffrey Brown, received a hefty suspension after being found guilty of possessing and trafficking banned substances by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
Following news of Salazar's ban, Nike closed down the 61-year-old's Oregon Project, while the World Anti-Doping Agency and UK Anti-Doping Agency have confirmed athletes formerly coached by the American - including 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah - are set to be investigated.
Salazar previously stated he would be appealing the ban, and CAS has now announced two cases have been opened, though it appears the hearings will not go ahead until March 2020 at the earliest.
"CAS has registered the appeals filed by Mr Alberto Salazar and Dr Jeffrey Brown against USADA in relation to the decisions rendered by the American Arbitration Association, North American Court of Arbitration for Sport Panel on 30 September 2019 and 7 October 2019 respectively, in which they were found to have committed anti-doping rule violations and sanctioned with a four-year period of ineligibility," a statement read.
"Two CAS arbitration procedures have been opened. The parties have requested additional time to file their written submissions and evidence.
"Accordingly, at this stage, it appears that the hearings in these two matters are unlikely to take place before March 2020."
