MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone was banned for 18 months by the International Motorcycling Federation on Wednesday after testing positive for a steroid.

The failed test came from a urine sample collected from the Italian driver at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Nov. 3.

Iannone maintains that the positive result came from contaminated meat that he ate.

The federation said the ban will be backdated to Dec. 17, 2019 — the date he was provisionally suspended. It will expire in June 2021.

Iannone has 21 days to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The start of the MotoGP season has been postponed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The 30-year-old Iannone races for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini. His only MotoGP victory came at the 2016 Austrian GP.