Athletics: Justin Gatlin has been told he will be held accountable for the testosterone found in his body following his positive drugs test.
The disgraced Olympic and world 100 metres champion announced on Saturday he had failed a test at the Kansas Relays in April and faces a lifetime ban from the sport.
His coach Trevor Graham insists Gatlin was set up when a massage therapist with a grudge administered testosterone by rubbing cream into his legs.
However, the world governing body the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) would have little sympathy with such a theory under its strict liability regulations which means an athlete is responsible for whatever is in their system.
"Whatever is found in an athlete's body when tested is his or her responsibility alone," said an IAAF spokesman.
He added: "We have been advising athletes for many years now of this strict liability policy and encouraged them to be very cautious when receiving any form of treatment."
Gatlin's future in the biggest doping scandal since Ben Johnson tested positive for stanozolol after becoming the 1988 Olympic champion, looks bleak.
The joint holder of the world 100m record faces a lifetime sentence having committed an earlier offence five years ago when he tested positive for amphetamines after winning the American junior title although he was given early reinstatement from his two-year suspension.
The IAAF accepted he had been prescribed as part of his normal medication for attention deficit disorder but under its 'two-hit' powers, warned him he would face a life ban if he committed a further offence.
Gatlin's lawyer Cameron Myler has already distanced the legal team from Graham's statement fully aware it is a useless argument.
Now Myler will have to come up with more valid reasons for the drugs violation when the case is heard by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
However, Gatlin's future is on a precipice as the test indicated the testosterone was not naturally produced in the body but administered externally.