CLAIMS that infected beef caused Dean Capobianco to test positive for anabolic steroids were dismissed by the International Amateur Athletic Federation - yesterday when they banned the Australian sprinter for four years.

After a two day hearing, a three man arbitration panel ruled there gas no doubt that the 26 year old Capobianco was guilty after testing positive for stanozolol - the drug Ben Johnson was caught with at the 1988 Olympics - at a meeting in Hengelo last May.

Although illegal, many farmers in Europe inject their cattle with steroids, and Capobianco, who had eaten a steak the night before his race, claimed that the drug had been absorbed through the food chain. If the defence had accepted that claim, it could have led to the collapse of the global anti doping system, because such a legal precedent would have made it impossible thereafter to remove the possibility of reasonable doubt.

As far as the arbitration panel is concerned, there is "not enough evidence that this can have an effect", said Nick Davies the IAAF's spokesman. Also, the rules state the liability is with the athlete if any doping substance is found.

Last year, an Athletics Australia tribunal cleared Capobianco, a member of Bedford & County AC who bases himself in London during the summer, to compete in the Atlanta Olympics. They decided the chain of custody of his urine sample could have been broken between the venue and the testing laboratory in Cologne. This defence was also thrown out by the IAAF.

Capobianco now faces being banned until 2000 and has threatened legal action. "He can do what he likes, but as far as we are concerned, it stops here," Davies said.

Capobianco's case was the first in a series of important drugs related decisions the IAAF must make. Later this week, they will decide whether to take action against several Greek athletes - including the new 60 metres world indoor champion, Haralambros Papadias - for allegedly evading a drug test in Germany last month.

Also, under the microscope is Kenya's Daniel Komen, the 3,000m world record holder who allegedly twice tested positive for excessive levels of caffeine last year. The IAAF has opened further investigation to determine whether the positive levels were due to Komen's metabolism and no further action is expected.