LONDON, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Thursday they will appeal against the decision which lifted a doping ban on France's Richard Gasquet.

The 23-year-old Frenchman tested positive for cocaine during the Miami Masters in March, but an independent tribunal allowed him to resume his career in July.

Gasquet, a former top 10 player and a Wimbledon Open semifinalist, had been provisionally suspended in May before serving a two and a half month retroactive ban.

The ITF will take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"The ITF can confirm that, jointly with WADA (the World Anti-doping Agency), it has appealed to CAS (the Court of Arbitration for Sport) the decision of the Independent Tribunal in the case of Richard Gasquet," said a statement released by the ITF.

"The ITF will make no further comment at this time."

Gasquet had claimed that he had picked up traces of cocaine after kissing a girl in a Miami nightclub.

The ITF had said Gasquet's sample from the ATP event in Miami contained benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine banned in-competition under WADA's 2009 List of Prohibited Substance.

But the ITF tribunal accepted his plea of "no significant fault or negligence", the player having insisted that the cocaine entered his system through inadvertent contamination in a nightclub

Related Story

• China's Sheng Lihao wins 2nd Paris Olympic gold with men's 10m air rifle victory(08-29 19:31)
• Olympics | Day 13: Chinese diver defends Olympic title, weightlifting debutant claims gold(08-09 16:50)
• Olympics | Chinese weightlifters Hou, Li retain gold at Paris 2024(08-08 14:26)
• Olympics | Day 12: Chinese weightlifters retain Olympic golds, artistic swimming team make history(08-08 14:23)
• Olympics | Chinese diver Quan defends women's 10m platform title at Paris Games(08-07 22:37)