Doping in football

Blatter

Blatter wrote: »

He's had trouble with his hamstring before, and I don't remember him being ever out of action that long. Must have been all 'slight'.

I don't know if it's just me, but I've always felt the Spanish players seem to recover much more quickly than others.

I'd love to see an extensive list of Barca/Real injuries over the last few years and compare recovery times to other big clubs in Europe.

Rooney recovers quickly from injuries.Would you say he is doping?*


*just as a comparison to your argument

Blatter

rarnes1 wrote: »

Rooney recovers quickly from injuries.Would you say he is doping?*


*just as a comparison to your argument

Does he really? I can't say I've ever thought that.

And if he did recover a quickly from injuries that other players at the top level take a lot longer to recover from, then no I wouldn't say he's doping but I'd say that it's a possibility and would have a question mark beside his name.

Blatter

Blatter wrote: »

Does he really? I can't say I've ever thought that.

And if he did recover a quickly from injuries that other players at the top level take a lot longer to recover from, then no I wouldn't say he's doping but I'd say that it's a possibility and would have a question mark beside his name.

I've seen it mentioned over the years that Rooney has made it back sooner than expected. I'm almost sure I read/heard Fergie say he recovers/heals quickly. Not sure to the answer to your 2nd question is.

Some players heal quicker than others, that's common sense.

I'm not naive enough to think doping doesn't happen, I'd be shocked if it doesn't. I just think it funny that the Spanish team/league seems to be mentioned quite a lot on this thread.

For all we know English teams could be leading the way with doping.

I'll wait for some actual evidence to appear first.

kryogen

I am certain Rooney has been rushed back, and has rushed himself back before he has been properly recovered in the past, but thats a different thing completely.

The thing about the English leading the way with doping, is highly unlikely, I will get back to that when Im not on the phone, but pretty sure some reasons have been laid out before on thread as to why you could make an educated guess on that

Blatter

rarnes1 wrote: »

I've seen it mentioned over the years that Rooney has made it back sooner than expected. I'm almost sure I read/heard Fergie say he recovers/heals quickly. Not sure to the answer to your 2nd question is.

Some players heal quicker than others, that's common sense.

I'm not naive enough to think doping doesn't happen, I'd be shocked if it doesn't. I just think it funny that the Spanish team/league seems to be mentioned quite a lot on this thread.

For all we know English teams could be leading the way with doping.

I'll wait for some actual evidence to appear first.

The reason why Spain is mentioned so much is fairly simple tbh. Firstly, it is well known by anybody that looked into the Armstong case that Spain is the doping capital of Europe, their laws are lax and they are known to have doctors who specialize in doping.

Secondly - as already mentioned, winning three tournaments in a row, not appearing to get tired etc. Also as said, the U-21's form prior to the Olympics vs. during the Olympics (which has stricter drug testing)

Thirdly - the links that Spanish clubs have with Fuentes, the revelation that some of his clients were footballers yet nothing is looked into and the Spanish government has actually refused to release his client list. Also, the recent Real Sociedad doping revelation from 02/03 and how the current head of La Liga was involved.


This stuff IS evidence. No it's not hard or direct evidence but we're not going to get, or have a chance of getting that until the above is thoroughly investigated. The reason why England isn't mentioned that much is because it doesn't even nearly have as much reason to be mentioned going by the information we have.

Blatter

kryogen wrote: »

I am certain Rooney has been rushed back, and has rushed himself back before he has been properly recovered in the past, but thats a different thing completely.

The thing about the English leading the way with doping, is highly unlikely, I will get back to that when Im not on the phone, but pretty sure some reasons have been laid out before on thread as to why you could make an educated guess on that

Yep, I remember Rooney being rushed back for England for WC '06 after a broken metatarsal and he clearly wasn't fit, and also in '10 against Bayern when he was a long way off being ready and was substituted before half time. Don't recall him actually recovering suspiciously quick from injuries.

The_Kew_Tour

I'm in no doubt that you will get least one player in PL doping its probably bit more. How many? Anyone's guess.

The difference in the rumours is that clubs in Spain have been linked with the Doctors etc rather then just individual players.

It's happening all over. Just on regards Rooney and United. If Rooney has been coming back quicker then expected each time then you would have to wonder. In saying that most United players I can think of who had injuries have had more setbacks then any club I can think of. Not saying they are innocent.

I only got interested in Drugs in Sport around 2006 cause of previous job where I worked with Sports Producers and spoke to writers for few months and the Spanish lads were always claiming certain players were taking PED.

I know girl in Spain who got sack from paper cause she wanted to print piece on proof she had of players attending Doctors who were giving more then just few Asprins.

Although few Italian lads I know are total opposite then.

Blatter

Blatter wrote: »

The reason why Spain is mentioned so much is fairly simple tbh. Firstly, it is well known by anybody that looked into the Armstong case that Spain is the doping capital of Europe, their laws are lax and they are known to have doctors who specialize in doping.

Secondly - as already mentioned, winning three tournaments in a row, not appearing to get tired etc. Also as said, the U-21's form prior to the Olympics vs. during the Olympics (which has stricter drug testing)

Thirdly - the links that Spanish clubs have with Fuentes, the revelation that some of his clients were footballers yet nothing is looked into and the Spanish government has actually refused to release his client list. Also, the recent Real Sociedad doping revelation from 02/03 and how the current head of La Liga was involved.


This stuff IS evidence. No it's not hard or direct evidence but we're not going to get, or have a chance of getting that until the above is thoroughly investigated. The reason why England isn't mentioned that much is because it doesn't even nearly have as much reason to be mentioned going by the information we have.

Yeah, I've read about Fuentes and his links with footballers. Obviously highly suspicious.

If the Armstrong case is anything to go by we'll have to wait quite a while to get the truth.

The_Kew_Tour

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

I'm in no doubt that you will get least one player in PL doping its probably bit more. How many? Anyone's guess.

The difference in the rumours is that clubs in Spain have been linked with the Doctors etc rather then just individual players.

It's happening all over. Just on regards Rooney and United. If Rooney has been coming back quicker then expected each time then you would have to wonder. In saying that most United players I can think of who had injuries have had more setbacks then any club I can think of. Not saying they are innocent.

I only got interested in Drugs in Sport around 2006 cause of previous job where I worked with Sports Producers and spoke to writers for few months and the Spanish lads were always claiming certain players were taking PED.

I know girl in Spain who got sack from paper cause she wanted to print piece on proof she had of players attending Doctors who were giving more then just few Asprins.

Although few Italian lads I know are total opposite then.

Tbf, I only mentioned him as it's a player I have heard coming back quicker than expected. Also, worth noting that I mentioned his name as a counter argument against Blatter and doping. In hindsight, should have used another player


It is a fascinating topic though and I think it'd seriously destroy the sport if it came out that it was widespread.

I think of cycling and baseball as a joke after all the scandals and find it hard to take either sport too serious. On the flipside though I hadn't a massive interest in either sport to begin with.

The_Kew_Tour

rarnes1 wrote: »

Tbf, I only mentioned him as it's a player I have heard coming back quicker than expected. Also, worth noting that I mentioned his name as a counter argument against Blatter and doping. In hindsight, should have used another player

No worries lad. I knew you were just making counter argument and got what you were trying to say.

I just hope that when we do find about players cheating that if the club had no involvement then at least we can move along quicker. If they're clubs (especially more then few) involved then this will be disaster for the sport.

Blatter

Blatter wrote: »

This stuff IS evidence. No it's not hard or direct evidence but we're not going to get, or have a chance of getting that until the above is thoroughly investigated. The reason why England isn't mentioned that much is because it doesn't even nearly have as much reason to be mentioned going by the information we have.

The same thing will happen with football fans as happened with a lot of cycling fans and "skeptics" about Armstrong, until someone is caught and admits it there's no problem. Look at people who defended Armstrong. It ranged from "there's no evidence" to "you can't say that unless he's found guilty". A failed test isn't enough for such people, the sportsperson in question has to be found guilty and dealt with by several bodies (some of which are vested interests) before many people will admit there's a problem.

It's been said "what use are steroids/EPO to soccer players?" because it's not as straightforward a benefit as say cycling, but I actually saw someone on another forum say that PEDs wouldn't be of much use in Rugby. I mean ffs, heads are in the sand everywhere.

As for whether or not Fuentes' full list will ever be pursued, that's going to come down to whether or not it suits the people who make that decision over the next 10-15 years.

Richard Hillman

The speed the Barca players are moving at compared to Milan is on a different planet. Ive been watching it for the last 10 mins of this games. Barcelona are as quick in the 1st ten mins as they are in the last ten.

Richard Hillman

Richard Hillman wrote: »

The speed the Barca players are moving at compared to Milan is on a different planet. Ive been watching it for the last 10 mins of this games. Barcelona are as quick in the 1st ten mins as they are in the last ten.

Must mean they are doping

kryogen

rarnes1 wrote: »

Must mean they are doping

That may have been what he was implying

kryogen

kryogen wrote: »

That may have been what he was implying

Seans_Username

Jordi Alba sprinting more than half the length of the pitch in the 92nd minute after bombing up and down the wing nearly the entire game.

Tin foil hat on here, but surely that's a bit suspicous??

SeantheMan

Or he's a super fit 23yr old at the peak of fitness ?

Off the Ball had Richie Sadlier on talking about doping in football not too long ago, was very interesting, i'll see if I can dig it up and post the links here

Chucky the tree

Seans_Username wrote: »

Jordi Alba sprinting more than half the length of the pitch in the 92nd minute after bombing up and down the wing nearly the entire game.

Tin foil hat on here, but surely that's a bit suspicous??

I think Ryan Giggs putting in a shift like he did against Real at his age is far far more dodgy.

ArmaniJeanss

Deleted User wrote: »

As for whether or not Fuentes' full list will ever be pursued, that's going to come down to whether or not it suits the people who make that decision over the next 10-15 years.

I increasingly think Fuentes is a spoofer.

He's had ample opportunity to publish his list of dodgy sportsmen, plus the apparent proof of his links to Levante, Valencia and Barcelona, all the supposed bombshell information.

As I understand it he had Le Monde completely onside 4 years ago - it was a time when that paper was more than happy to have a pop at everything Spanish. They published the jist of his allegations on the understanding that he would then come forward with the meaty bits. He didn't, and Le Monde ended up being fined €300K (reduced on appeal to €15K) in the Spanish libel courts.
No-one ever seems to mention the dull second part of this story when they excitedly give links to the original Le Monde story.

Since then he's had a few years to get in contact with willing media companies with any evidence he has - there would be no shortage of candidates in France, Germany ,the UK or America willing to run with an actual real story backed by even basic evidence (a few dates that could be corrorborated, photos, signatures, witnesses, anything really).
Yet he does nothing until the court case starts, at which point knowing full well that his alleged list is outside the remit of the case, he starts going on about it again.

Spanish football/tennis/athletics may well be guilty, but if it is I doubt Fuentes was any part of it.

Giruilla

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

As I understand it he had Le Monde completely onside 4 years ago - it was a time when that paper was more than happy to have a pop at everything Spanish. They published the jist of his allegations on the understanding that he would then come forward with the meaty bits. He didn't, and Le Monde ended up being fined €300K (reduced on appeal to €15K) in the Spanish libel courts.
No-one ever seems to mention the dull second part of this story when they excitedly give links to the original Le Monde story.

Since then he's had a few years to get in contact with willing media companies with any evidence he has - there would be no shortage of candidates in France, Germany ,the UK or America willing to run with an actual real story backed by even basic evidence (a few dates that could be corrorborated, photos, signatures, witnesses, anything really).
Yet he does nothing until the court case starts, at which point knowing full well that his alleged list is outside the remit of the case, he starts going on about it again.

I don't see how that is a "dull" second part to the story? They had the guts to print the story which would suggest they had seen some pretty strong evidence. Fuentes just didn't GIVE the evidence to them. Fuentes is just keeping his options open.. he had nothing to gain by giving them that evidence, but everything to lose. He's said he's had numerous death threats made against him and his family if he names which football clubs he's worked with, and you can't go against them because of their legal means and influence. Naming footballers individually would be different but the trial judge has refused to ask him for names of footballers he's worked with.

You remember Lance Armstrong successfully sued numerous people and papers for libel and look how that turned out?

Giruilla

rarnes1 wrote: »

I think of cycling and baseball as a joke after all the scandals and find it hard to take either sport too serious. On the flipside though I hadn't a massive interest in either sport to begin with.

Me too. I find it hilarious people in America used to say drugs would have no benefit to a sport like baseball - while Barry Bonds was smashing home run records. People in Europe are gullible enough to say the exact same thing about football, golf, and unbelievably about tennis! How can people not realise anywhere there is a significant financial reward involved, people will do whatever is in their "means" to get it..

On the subject of why Spain is being mentioned more than England, as others have said mainly because Spain seems to be the doping capital of Europe.. not to even mention the dominance they've had in football recently.. and then the Real Sociedad scandal. But also in England Wenger has been very vocal on his call for stricter doping regulations, and openly commented that players he's signed from Europe have had all the signs of EPO abuse. I've no doubt though that in England individual players are juicing. Even at United (who I support) I admit I think there are suspect players.

Giruilla

Giruilla wrote: »

Me too. I find it hilarious people in America used to say drugs would have no benefit to a sport like baseball - while Barry Bonds was smashing home run records. People in Europe are gullible enough to say the exact same thing about football, golf, and unbelievably about tennis! How can people not realise anywhere there is a significant financial reward involved, people will do whatever is in their "means" to get it..

I do love that though. Especially the tennis example, any of the slow motion replays showing them off their feet hitting the ball and just about every muscle completely tensed shows where the benefit would be.

The_Kew_Tour

Giruilla wrote: »

But also in England Wenger has been very vocal on his call for stricter doping regulations, and openly commented that players he's signed from Europe have had all the signs of EPO abuse. I've no doubt though that in England individual players are juicing. Even at United (who I support) I admit I think there are suspect players.

Credit to Wenger about this. Least he highlighted it even if it did not make major news.

Sirsok

What are the serious negative impacts of blood doping anyway? It can cause clots but thats caused from raising your red blood cells so technically high altitutde training has the same effect. agreed everyone should be on the same playing field but I fail to see if the negative effects arent hugely effective why are they so frowned upon.

Sorry if im being naive, im just curious

The_Kew_Tour

Sirsok wrote: »

What are the serious negative impacts of blood doping anyway? It can cause clots but are there any serious negative effects but thats caused from raising your red blood cells so technically high altitutde training has the same effect. agreed everyone should be on the same playing field but I fail to see if the negative effects arent hugely effective why are they so frowned upon.

Sorry if im being naive, im just curious

I know it causes Heart Attacks, increase in Cholestoral levels and im pretty sure it can cause Liver failure too(although Im not 100% on that) I do now its not good on liver though.

764dak

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

I know it causes Heart Attacks, increase in Cholestoral levels and im pretty sure it can cause Liver failure too(although Im not 100% on that) I do now its not good on liver though.

Abidal and Barca (possibly). That's what some people say.

Blatter

764dak wrote: »

Abidal and Barca (possibly). That's what some people say.

Out of interest, has anybody ever heard of any other young athletes that have developed a liver tumour out of nowhere? Must be extremely uncommon.

The_Kew_Tour

Blatter wrote: »

Out of interest, has anybody ever heard of any other young athletes that have developed a liver tumour out of nowhere? Must be extremely uncommon.

There could be loads, but I can't think of one at this minute anyway.

TaosHum

If juicing is common practice in Spain, then I find it amazing that no player (even those that have retired) has come out and said it is rife.

No way something like this could be kept secret by so many players, coaches, medical staff, etc.

Giruilla

TaosHum wrote: »

If juicing is common practice in Spain, then I find it amazing that no player (even those that have retired) has come out and said it is rife.

No way something like this could be kept secret by so many players, coaches, medical staff, etc.

So you'd be of the absence of evidence is evidence of absence stance..

I have to say I don't read any spanish newspapers so I don't know if there are many more whistleblowers than Inaki Badiola (former La Liga president) and Fuentes or not. Maybe its like in England.. the stories are actually there if you go and look for them. Richard Sadlier, Danny Mills have both spoke and wrote pieces confirming doping but it gets virtually zero press attention.
You have to remember a lot of the time players don't know they are being doped.

Cienciano

TaosHum wrote: »

If juicing is common practice in Spain, then I find it amazing that no player (even those that have retired) has come out and said it is rife.

No way something like this could be kept secret by so many players, coaches, medical staff, etc.

People have come out and said it, but no one is really interested. Journalists don't seem to care because fans aren't too interested. Football leagues would rather not know about it, same with fifa and uefa.
We don't get very few people coming out about it because it's not in their interest. They're huge money in football, and if you come out and say stuff you did 10 years ago people just think "Well, that was years ago, it's different now".

PhlegmyMoses

TaosHum wrote: »

If juicing is common practice in Spain, then I find it amazing that no player (even those that have retired) has come out and said it is rife.

No way something like this could be kept secret by so many players, coaches, medical staff, etc.

Loads of players got done for Nandrolone in Italy a while back and you still have **** all people talking about what went on. No way it was only those players juicing but nobody talks about it. Sure how long did it take for the Lance Armstrong stuff to come out? He was writing books about how he was drug free and hard it was to be him, what with all the testing and presumptions of guilt, and not one person on the inside came out about it until 2012.

PhlegmyMoses

Just remembered a line from the Secret Footballer's book in which he rubbishes a Dispatches investigation into doping in the Premier League as he believes that it is virtually non-existent.

Many people believe him to be Dave Kitson so maybe it's just the case that lower level teams aren't engaged in it but he would surely have come into contact with players that played at the highest level at some point in their careers.

This kind of thing would also be right up his alley, if it was going on, as he hints at recreational drug use and never seems overly bothered about upsetting the apple cart. I'd be inclined to believe that he believes that it is not endemic so does this suggest that it is only the elite engaging in these practices, if indeed anyone is?

jonnyfingers

TaosHum wrote: »

If juicing is common practice in Spain, then I find it amazing that no player (even those that have retired) has come out and said it is rife.

No way something like this could be kept secret by so many players, coaches, medical staff, etc.

I read Tyler Hamilton's book about his doping during his cycling career. Absolutely everyone in the sport knew about the doping but there was an unwritten rule that you didn't blow the whistle on anyone. They got away with it for so long mainly because the testing was a joke and there are rumours even the governing body was turning a blind eye because the sport was getting good attention with Lance Armstrong's performance, as well as others.

From what I've read the Spanish and Italian doctors involved with cycling doping have also been involved with football teams in the past so I would be absolutely amazed if doping isn't happening, at least at the top clubs. Doping is probably not as effective in football as it is in cycling as stamina is not as important, and there are other attributes that can affect the game's outcome such as skill, interaction with team mates, etc. But think about it, if doping boosts your stamina sufficiently then that stamina in the last 10 minutes of a game, as non-dopers get tired, becomes a huge benefit.

Personally I'd love to see random blood testing throughout the year and more importantly BEFORE major competitions as that is when dopers will most likely be caught. To roll it out to every level of the sport would be a huge undertaking so they should probably focus on the top level at first.

mitosis

In Italy two from each team are tested after every game. What are the figures for Spain, EPL?

Giruilla

jonnyfingers wrote: »

Personally I'd love to see random blood testing throughout the year and more importantly BEFORE major competitions as that is when dopers will most likely be caught. To roll it out to every level of the sport would be a huge undertaking so they should probably focus on the top level at first.

Considering footballers are effectively putting themselves "on show" during these tournaments, along with being after a long hard season, I'd say doping is absolutely rife during these (Gary Neville has already confirmed this..). Think about how many players have been signed for premier league alone purely on their performances in the World/European Cup.

jonnyfingers

Giruilla wrote: »

Considering footballers are effectively putting themselves "on show" during these tournaments, along with being after a long hard season, I'd say doping is absolutely rife during these (Gary Neville has already confirmed this..). Think about how many players have been signed for premier league alone purely on their performances in the World/European Cup.

Exactly and drug testing during the competitions is pretty pointless as any drugs they have taken would have been taken in the weeks before the competition and would be out of their system by then. Also from Tyler Hamilton's book the doping doctors always seemed to be more advanced than the testing doctors so the testing was able to be beaten.

losthorizon

Chucky the tree wrote: »

I think Ryan Giggs putting in a shift like he did against Real at his age is far far more dodgy.

Mark Lawrenson said "I would love to be on what he is on" during the match.

Just a throwaway comment?

Remember reading a World Soccer article a long time ago now which was bemoaning the fact that the English game was the last major league to put in place any sort of doping controls.

Giruilla

Peter Odemwingie says he took steroid injections at WB on twitter... wheres the press outrage over this?? Am I missing something?

gnfnrhead

Giruilla wrote: »

Peter Odemwingie says he took steroid injections at WB on twitter... wheres the press outrage over this?? Am I missing something?

I think most people just ignore Odemwingie now. Didnt he say recently he was trying to get fired? Claiming drug use would be a good way to do that.

Giruilla

gnfnrhead wrote: »

I think most people just ignore Odemwingie now. Didnt he say recently he was trying to get fired? Claiming drug use would be a good way to do that.

He deleted the tweet afterwards. What he said is proof that the clubs put pressure on players to dope.

Paully D

200 bags of blood, some perhaps linked to sports such as football, have been ordered to be destroyed so the World Anti-Doping Agency can't test them:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22353145

A Spanish doctor accused of running one of the world's largest sports doping rings has received a one-year suspended sentence for endangering public health.

Eufemiano Fuentes was convicted over his role in supplying blood transfusions to professional cyclists.

He was charged under public health laws because doping was not illegal in Spain at the time.

A former cycle team official was sentenced to four months in jail, while three other defendants were cleared.

Police found some 200 bags of frozen blood and plasma when they raided Fuentes' offices in 2006.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and Spain's domestic authorities had wanted access to the blood, to test whether athletes from other sports were involved in the doping ring.

But Judge Julia Patricia Santamaria on Tuesday declined to grant them access and ordered that the bags be destroyed.

The Operation Puerto doping trial focused on cycling. Dozens of cyclists were implicated, though few have been sanctioned.

As well as handing Fuentes the one year suspended sentence, the court in Madrid struck him off as a medical doctor for four years and fined 4,650 euros ($6,000: £3,940).

It sentenced Ignacio Labarta, a former official in the Kelme cycling team, to four months in prison.

Two other former cycling team officials, Manolo Saiz and Vicente Belda, were cleared, as was Fuentes' sister and fellow doctor Yolanda.

During the trial, Fuentes said he had worked with athletes, footballers and boxers, as well as cyclists, though he did not say whether he had helped them dope.

The bags of blood found in Fuentes' offices were labelled with codenames, which were believed to relate to well-known cyclists and possibly other athletes. But the judge's ruling means authorities will not be able to establish this.

Fuentes maintained that the aim of the blood transfusions was to protect athletes' health and improve their performance during training.

Spain has passed anti-doping legislation since 2006, and parliament is expected to vote on an anti-doping bill later this year that would bring Spanish law into line with Wada's guidelines.

Milan and Real Sociedad mentioned in the below document also, for the Spanish speakers:



This of course with the revelation a few months back that del Moral (Lance Armstrong's one time doctor) worked with Barcelona and Valencia:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/barcelona/9597078/Barcelona-deny-link-to-banned-doctor-Luis-Garcia-del-Moral-who-worked-with-Lance-Armstrong-and-US-Postal.html

On the official website of the sports and medical centre at which Dr Luis García del Moral has been based, it is claimed that as well as working with Armstrong, Del Moral had also been a “medical adviser” to Barcelona and Valencia football clubs.

Del Moral, who is based in Valencia, was, like Armstrong, given a lifetime ban from sport by US anti-doping officials over his role in systematic doping at the US Postal cycling team during the period Armstrong won a record number of Tour de France titles. Like Armstong, Del Moral has chosen not to fight the ban.
Telegraph Sport asked Barçelona if the claims on the website, which are believed to relate to the 2003-04 season, could be corroborated. The four-times European champions responded by stating that they had searched employment records and could confirm that Del Moral was “never on the staff payroll”.

However, Barça said they could not guarantee that Del Moral had not been engaged on an ad hoc basis by the medical department during that period, or been used by individual players. They added that there has since been an overhaul of the club’s medical system and personnel.

When asked who ran the club’s medical affairs at the time, Barcelona did not respond. Valencia did not answer calls and did not respond to two emails requesting a response to the unverified suggestion of a connection between the club and Del Moral.

Del Moral’s list of clients appear on the Team360 section of the website of Performa SportConsulting, a centre offering a range of services.
One of the tennis players also listed as a client of Del Moral is the French Open finalist Sara Errani. Following the charges made against Del Moral, Errani said she would sever her connection with him.

“He was the best doctor in Valencia for everything, so I have been working with him of course. But now his name is not a good name, so I think I will not work anymore with him,” Errani said at the US Open.

Performa and Del Moral did not respond to Telegraph Sport’s repeated attempts to contact them.
The USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency) indictment sent to Del Moral in June – which he has said he will not challenge – said he had injected cyclists with erythropoietin, a stamina-enhancing substance, and with testosterone. He was also accused of facilitating “blood doping” transfusions and of providing human growth hormone to riders.

It was claimed that he had “regularly fabricated” prescriptions for corticosteroids, such as cortisone, for healthy riders and that he had administered saline and plasma infusions, which are common masking agents.
USADA’s charge sheet also listed offences including possession and trafficking of prohibited substances as well as covering up anti-doping rule violations.
It added: “Numerous riders will testify that Dr Del Moral gave to them, encouraged them to use and/or assisted them in using doping products and/or prohibited methods, including EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone, HGH, cortisone and infusions of saline, plasma and/or glycerol during the period from 1999 through 2005.

“Riders and other witnesses will also testify that Del Moral worked actively to conceal rule violations by himself and others throughout the period from 1999 through the present.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and Spain's domestic authorities had wanted access to the blood, to test whether athletes from other sports were involved in the doping ring.

But Judge Julia Patricia Santamaria on Tuesday declined to grant them access and ordered that the bags be destroyed.

The smell of a coverup is strong!

The_Kew_Tour

Barca looked tired team tonight ;-)

SantryRed

Or the Germans have found an extra boost of fitness too through some new training regime.

losthorizon

rarnes1 wrote: »

The smell of a coverup is strong!

They actually have not been destroyed, they are in cold storage as there is an appeal going on at the moment.

UnitedIrishman

Considering he is quoted as saying - "If I would talk, the Spanish football team would be stripped of the 2010 World Cup", I wouldn't be one bit surprised at footballers taking illegal substances.

The Spanish doping tests are next to non-existant and as has been proven in this case, it's a clear case of a higher force telling the judge what is at stake and directing her to have the samples destroyed. Otherwise, the entire credibility of Spain as a sporting nation would have been destroyed - imagine if a couple of international footballers, a tennis player and some more cyclists were among those sampled? It'd create chaos across sport.

To be honest, I think we're all a bit naive as to what is going on behind closed doors. It's rampant in most sports and those developing the drugs are ahead of those trying to develop tests for them.

Timmyctc

Carlos Alberto, Formerly of Porto 2004 CL winning squad done for doping today ... It begins.

Seaneh

Paully D wrote: »

200 bags of blood, some perhaps linked to sports such as football, have been ordered to be destroyed so the World Anti-Doping Agency can't test them:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22353145



Milan and Real Sociedad mentioned in the below document also, for the Spanish speakers:



This of course with the revelation a few months back that del Moral (Lance Armstrong's one time doctor) worked with Barcelona and Valencia:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/barcelona/9597078/Barcelona-deny-link-to-banned-doctor-Luis-Garcia-del-Moral-who-worked-with-Lance-Armstrong-and-US-Postal.html

The reference to Milan is linked to an Italian cycling team, not the football club.

GLaDOS

What would a judge have to gain by protecting football. Implies corruption I suppose, would that be likely in Spain?