UNDER-fire Olympic champion Rashid Ramzi has yet to receive an International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruling on allegations of doping during last year's Beijing Olympics, and the long wait is encouraging, according to his Los Angeles-based lawyer.

Ramzi appeared before an IOC disciplinary panel during a closed hearing on July 27 in Lausanne, Switzerland, during which he and his attorney, American Maurice Suh, raised several points defending Ramzi's innocence.

They were told to expect a ruling within six weeks, but up until last night - more than seven weeks since the IOC enquiry - there still has been no word of an IOC verdict. This, according to Suh, could be good.

"Ramzi's lawyer told us that the long wait could mean that the IOC is finding it hard to make a decision on his case," Bahrain Athletics Association vice-president Abdulrahman Askar told the GDN last night.

"Obviously, we are only guessing, but this is positive, and we remain confident that the points both Ramzi and his lawyer raised during his hearing have made an impact. Hopefully it results in a favourable outcome.

"But until we hear anything official, we cannot be sure, and right now we don't know how much longer it will be before the ruling is announced."

At the July enquiry, Suh "questioned the chain of custody, documentation and handling" of Ramzi's samples, said a Bahrain Olympic Committee statement released afterwards.

Such faults in the procedure could have had a huge effect on the results of the Olympic 1,500-metre champion's blood samples, which tested positive for the banned substance CERA, which is an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug EPO.

The IOC can strip Ramzi of his results and his Olympic gold medal, and could ban him from the 2012 London Olympics. Under new IOC rules, any athlete caught doping and banned for at least six months cannot compete in the next Olympics.

The disciplinary panel was chaired by IOC vice-president Thomas Bach of Germany, and included IOC executive board members Gerhard Heiberg of Norway and Denis Oswald of Switzerland.

The panel has the power to issue rulings but can also make recommendations to the executive board for a final decision. The board was scheduled to meet during the World Athletics Championships in Berlin last month.

The ruling, if it goes against Ramzi, can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne for a binding decision.