Lausanne, Switzerland - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the lifetime ban for doping offences imposed on Austrian nordic skiing coach Emil Hoch to 15 years Tuesday.

Hoch was the trainer of the Austrian cross-country ski team at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin when the team9s accommodation was searched by Italian police and medical items which could be used for blood doping and blood manipulation were found.

The Liechtenstein national was subsequently given a life ban by skiing's ruling body FIS for possession of a prohibited doping method and assistance/complicity in doping.

However, CAS held that as Hoch had "provided substantial help for multiple third-party anti-doping rule violations," it was not satisfied that the offence had reached a level of seriousness that would justify imposing the highest possible sanction, namely a life time ban.

"The Panel felt that whilst Emil Hoch no doubt had a decisive leadership responsibility in this doping case, he did not have the sole or supreme leadership responsibility and therefore it has decided to modify the length of Emil Hoch9s period of ineligibility to fifteen years, starting on 18 September 2007," said CAS in a statement. (dpa)