Doping and Operation Puerto

jojojo

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I know we've already got the Armstrong and the Tennis thread talking about the topic but this is a bit more general than that. Indeed, if Spain is really unlucky, this may make it back up into the Football forum.

The trial of Eufemiano Fuentes started yesterday. It's a difficult trial for the Spanish police because most of what he did wasn't illegal in Spain (or in most countries) - under medical supervision. Blood transfusions are legal. EPO, insulin, HGH, testosterone, steroids etc are all legitimate drugs - except when used as PEDs in sport.

So like going for Al Capone for tax evasion, Fuentes is basically on trial for keeping inadequate records, and unsafe or unregulated storage of blood and drugs.

On day one, he was basically unapologetic and having had years to come up with a defence, he sounded pretty confident as well. In the main, he says he was not a supplier or even a prescriber of drugs, he simply recommended medical regimes that would compensate for the adverse effects of top level sport.

In particular, he talked about blood transfusions for cyclists and how they needed close monitoring because all that effort plays havoc with blood haemocrit levels. So he used to take it out when the level got too high because the blood could become dangerously viscous - and then he'd put it back in again before they got anaemic. Simple.

As to who he worked with, he's currently keeping teams (of all types) out of it. : "All types of sportsmen. Individual cyclists. An athlete, a footballer, a tennis player and a boxer. I examined them and gave them individual diet plans and advice on preparation."
 
Apparently WADA are demanding the names of everyone who he doped. It could be a massive blow for Spanish sport should he reveal everything.
 
Guardian reporter: Puerto trial now officially stinks. First judge rules out evidence from Fuentes computers, now prevents him putting names to blood bags
 
Amir said:
Guardian reporter: Puerto trial now officially stinks. First judge rules out evidence from Fuentes computers, now prevents him putting names to blood bags
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Looks like the Spanish authorities do not want to shame their country, sport, after all, has been their prestige export in recent years.

edit: just read the report, Fuentes offered to name the blood samples and the judge told him not to, incredible, stinks of a high level cover up! There must be some big Spanish stars involved in this.
 
Jimy_Hills_Chin said:
Looks like the Spanish authorities do not want to shame their country, sport, after all, has been their prestige export in recent years.

edit: just read the report, Fuentes offered to name the blood samples and the judge told him not to, incredible, stinks of a high level cover up! There must be some big Spanish stars involved in this.
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It'll certainly set tongues wagging. Hopefully the names will come out in the aftermath of the trial.
 
Do you guys realize how much money FIFA, UEFA and clubs would lose if big footballer names are revealed? That's the reason they keep refusing to give the names to WADA and I believe the entire sport in Spain is suspicious, suddenly they win WC, EC, Handball, Baskteball, you name it and they won. I feel suspicious when I see a team like Spain beats another team after the 90 minutes playing with a very high stamina and I believe Barca and Real have players taking some shit and reason we don't see Real offering to have their players having a blood test.
 
The Telegraph is claiming that Fuentes admitted in prison to having information that would see Spain stripped of their Euro and World Cup titles. We could be due a couple of European Cups here!
 
Jimy_Hills_Chin said:
:lol:

Imagine the Scousers!

This is a major story that might not get blown open. I hope that there are some intrepid journalists that pursue this a la the Lance Armstrong case.
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Thats the big concern, the fact that the judge has now ruled to not use his computer evidence is total bullshit and stinks of them being paid off somewhere along the line.

What implications would this have for lets safe hypothetically speaking Barca were doping their players? Fuentes was caught in like 2006 wasnt he? Could he have still had some involvement for their most recent triumphs etc?
 
The Spanish judge is running the criminal case against Fuentes which are basically public health charges. The drugs involved aren't illegal, indeed some of them don't even require prescriptions. The charge is that he endangered his patients. His response is that he merely treated their conditions.

Not a high enough haemocrit? - Give them some blood. Blood too viscous? - Take some out. And so on, with all the treatments he recommended. Simple. (Who's hearing Doctor Nick Riviera's voice right now? And no I don't mean that in a racial stereotyping way)

The witnesses are either called by the defence to explain how careful he was or by the prosecution to describe blood bottles being stored alongside the coca cola in the cool box on race day. Hence why it's the cyclists - they've already been exposed and have nothing to lose and they're the group he worked alongside for weeks at a time.

What the judge can't really do is order the public disclosure of medical records of people who aren't charged with a criminal offence. Having a blood transfusion is not a criminal offence, and the possession/use of insulin/HGH etc isn't either. They are offences against a set of rules laid down by a sporting organisation.

So that's where you need to look: the sporting organisations. Not WADA - they can't order anything. How about FIFA ordering the players to agree to the release of their medical records - obviously with a guarantee of medical privacy on non-PED issues? A standard letter from each player, playing in La Liga at that time, to the Operation Puerto investigating officers asking for the release of anything about them on Fuentes records/computer should do the trick.

Of course FIFA can't order ex-players to comply, but it can order the ones who need FIFA licences as players, coaches and agents.
 
jojojo said:
So that's where you need to look: the sporting organisations. Not WADA - they can't order anything. How about FIFA ordering the players to agree to the release of their medical records - obviously with a guarantee of medical privacy on non-PED issues? A standard letter from each player, playing in La Liga at that time, to the Operation Puerto investigating officers asking for the release of anything about them on Fuentes records/computer should do the trick.
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Or you could just get Fuentes to blow the whistle and watch the shitstorm envelop.
 
jojojo said:
The Spanish judge is running the criminal case against Fuentes which are basically public health charges. The drugs involved aren't illegal, indeed some of them don't even require prescriptions. The charge is that he endangered his patients. His response is that he merely treated their conditions.

Not a high enough haemocrit? - Give them some blood. Blood too viscous? - Take some out. And so on, with all the treatments he recommended. Simple. (Who's hearing Doctor Nick Riviera's voice right now? And no I don't mean that in a racial stereotyping way)

The witnesses are either called by the defence to explain how careful he was or by the prosecution to describe blood bottles being stored alongside the coca cola in the cool box on race day. Hence why it's the cyclists - they've already been exposed and have nothing to lose and they're the group he worked alongside for weeks at a time.

What the judge can't really do is order the public disclosure of medical records of people who aren't charged with a criminal offence. Having a blood transfusion is not a criminal offence, and the possession/use of insulin/HGH etc isn't either. They are offences against a set of rules laid down by a sporting organisation.

So that's where you need to look: the sporting organisations. Not WADA - they can't order anything. How about FIFA ordering the players to agree to the release of their medical records - obviously with a guarantee of medical privacy on non-PED issues? A standard letter from each player, playing in La Liga at that time, to the Operation Puerto investigating officers asking for the release of anything about them on Fuentes records/computer should do the trick.

Of course FIFA can't order ex-players to comply, but it can order the ones who need FIFA licences as players, coaches and agents.
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Wish someone like Sid Lowe would talk on this. Pressure is what is needed.
 
I suspect all the doping stories coming out recently are only just the tip of the Iceberg.

We have of course all the latest coming out of the cycling world. (Although it remains completely silent in the traditional cycling countries Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland)
Particularly the admissions coming from Holland are very interesting. After a spate of ex-Rabobank cyclists admitted to doping in the past few weeks, today it has been announced that the Danish cycilist Rasmussen (remember him?) is cooperating with the Dutch authorities (the Dutch Olympic Association to be exact) naming cyclists , doctors, etc. and explaining how the doping was bought and used, how they evaded getting caught etc. etc. This story will probably make Tyler Hamilton's story read like he 'didn't inhale'.

We have the start of the Fuentes court case in Spain, in which Fuentes has already admitted to court that he has footballers, tennis players and athletes amongst his clients. (He also claimed he didn't supply EPO mind.)

Then there's the rumours coming from the inner circles of the tennis world about a certain seemingly unbeatable tennis player not actually winning these 5 setters just on iso drinks and banana's. This even prompted certain questions from journalists to this certain player at the Australian Open earlier this month.

Not get much attention in Europe, but hot news in the States, are the stories about baseballers Alex Rodriguez (Yankees), Melky Cabrera (Toronto), Gio Gonzalez (Washington) and Nelson Cruz (Texas) being supplied with HGH's by a clinic in Miami.
And of course living legend' Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens and golfer Vijay Singh taking deer antler spray, a product containing IGF-1 which causes the antlers of a deer to grow extremely fast and hard. (You couldn't make it up.)

As I said, I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. I think 2013 will go down as the year we lost faith in sport.
 
Apparently WADA have applied for access to the blood samples and the judge will rule today on the matter. I was would be stunned if the Spanish judge was to rule in favour of WADA.
 
Jimy_Hills_Chin said:
Apparently WADA have applied for access to the blood samples and the judge will rule today on the matter. I was would be stunned if the Spanish judge was to rule in favour of WADA.
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Any word on this?

Also, apparently FIFA want to implement biological passports in time for the World Cup in 2014.

Although doping cases continue to be rare in football, the issue of illegal substances remains of paramount importance to the doctors of FIFA’s member associations. Above all, medical professionals are focused on the longer term surveillance of players, a new initiative that was discussed at FIFA’s Medical Conference in Budapest on Thursday.

“The game has developed a lot and become much more athletic,” FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter explained in his opening address to the conference. “The tempo has increased, including in terms of the number of games played per season. Players have to be more and more competitive. The fight against doping is an issue that needs to be treated seriously, because there are cheats and that’s a fact.”

Michel D’Hooghe, the Chairman of the FIFA Medical Committee and a FIFA Executive Committee member, then emphasised how FIFA began its battle against doping at the 1970 FIFA World Cup™ – and that it has not altered its position since. “We’re against doping because it goes against ethics, fair play and the integrity of players,” he said.

FIFA’s campaign against doping involves collaborating with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), instituting rules and ensuring that these rules are followed by the member associations. “Since 2009, we have been in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code,” said Professor Jiri Dvorak, FIFA’s Chief Medical Officer and Chairman of the FIFA Medical and Research Centre (F-MARC).

“The member associations have to apply FIFA’s anti-doping rules. It’s the responsibility of the associations to carry out doping tests during tournaments and also away from competitions. And they are obliged to collaborate with WADA’s regional agencies.

“Approximately 30,000 tests are carried out per year with 0.3 per cent ending up positive, which is one of the lowest rates in sport,” he added. “Only 0.03 per cent involve the use of anabolic steroids.” The figures are undeniably encouraging, but Professor Dvorak was at pains to emphasise that the struggle against doping is far from over. “We don’t want to be naively optimistic. We know we have to continue the fight, and the next step consists of creating long-term biological profiles (passports). We’re working with WADA in this area and we need the support of the clubs and players.”

The conference then looked in more detail at the nature of biological profiles (passports), with Martial Saugy (pictured), Director of the Anti-Doping Laboratory in Lausanne giving a scientific rundown. “It’s a profile that’s both individual and spread over time,” he said. “To use an example, an injection of synthetic EPO is intended to increase the number of red blood cells. In the past, we measured the increase in hermatocrit levels in an ad-hoc way. By measuring haemoglobin levels at different moments, you can obtain a profile with minimal and maximal rates for each individual.”

The Swiss professor, who carried out a pilot test during last year’s FIFA Club World Cup, also explained that the same type of study can be carried out for steroid levels.

WADA’s principal concern, meanwhile, is ensuring that its code is adhered to, which was a point made by the agency’s Director General, David Howman. “We must also make sure that the rules in place are effective,” he said. “We have to be certain that we catch the cheats, we have to be certain that everyone is educated and, lastly, we have to be certain we’re using our resources wisely. I think it’s important to underline that we want to carry out more education and fewer tests, and that we’re aiming for quality rather than quantity.”

Howman was nonetheless quick to praise FIFA’s initiative in terms of biological profiles (passports), stressing that “it’s both a remarkable weapon in the fight against doping and an important tool for following the health of players”. The procedure will soon become commonplace too, as Professor Dvorak explained. “Our goal is to launch the biological profiles for the teams that qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.”
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http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/bodies/congress/news/newsid=1637668/index.html
 
Another cyclist, Luis Leon, got suspended today due to material coming out of the Fuentes trial. His other claim to fame is that Pedro Leon (Real Madrid player on loan to Getafe) is his brother.
 
An old director at Real Sociedad has admitted to Spanish paper AS that the club bought doping products between 2003-2008 with black money. The ex-board mentor also mentioned that the reason no one was caught was because of the terrible quality of the drug testing.
 
Rams said:
An old director at Real Sociedad has admitted to Spanish paper AS that the club bought doping products between 2003-2008 with black money. The ex-board mentor also mentioned that the reason no one was caught was because of the terrible quality of the drug testing.
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And this morning I saw this, from a cycling journalist:

mrconde Mikkel Condé v2.0 3m
In case you missed it. Document from Fuentes back from 2005 with "Milan" written on it. IG is growth hormone (IGF-1). pic.twitter.com/J16ZbxfG

BCVPhuqCcAAoPQ7.jpg:large


One of Fuentes' notes where you can clearly see the names 'R. Soc.', 'Milan' and 'Alfredo' (Real Madrid?) mentioned, followed by initials IG (Insulin growth factor). Apparently evidence items like these have been omitted from the whole investigation and trial because a judge once declared that they were obtained illegally.

More likely that the judge was pressured by the politicians to keep the lid on the football-part of Fuentes' operations if you ask me.
 
Very interesting claims by this guy on his Twitter feed:

Giggs_Boson

Also, some USADA figureheads have been saying that they usually suspected an American athlete was takings PEDs when they went to train in Spain for their pre/off-season work. Apparently it was a dead giveaway, and their suspicions were usually proved correct.

It's purely coincidental that a legendary British cyclist is currently doing his pre-season training in Spain at the moment, I'm sure. With the allegations put to Djokovic recently, could it be possible that other exceptional athletes that dominate their sports be capable of doping, or at least risking it? Has there ever been any suspicions with Wiggins, no?
 
I guess the secret of Barcelona and Spain's pressure on opponents is coming up soon...or maybe not, FIFA should be banned completely when they knew about 1998 (France) and the decision in not having blood tests in WC 2006.
 
Nadal: "I want to know if the players I play against are as clean as I am.

"I don't understand why Fuentes hasn't given the names. I don't understand why the judge doesn't order him to do it.

"Because he's Spanish the whole of Spanish sport is under suspicion."

He also mentioned that he'd been tested 4 times in the past two weeks, including two tests on consecutive days.
 
It's all exploding in Holland.

Rasmussen is suing Rabobank for unfair dismissal and in the court case several witnesses have testified Boogerd (who owned up yesterday) and the lot were all doping along with Rasmussen, and that the team was actively helping organising it. Leinders, the doctor who had to leave Sky after the Olympics, was named and won of the doctors who obtained and help administer the doping.
Rasmussen's case against Rabobank hangs on the question whether he lied to the Rabobank team about his whereabouts. Witnesses have now testified that the Rabobank team knew Rasmussen's whereabouts when he missed the out of competition tests, the reason he was sacked by Rabobank.
 
Rams said:
It's all exploding in Holland.

Rasmussen is suing Rabobank for unfair dismissal and in the court case several witnesses have testified Boogerd (who owned up yesterday) and the lot were all doping along with Rasmussen, and that the team was actively helping organising it. Leinders, the doctor who had to leave Sky after the Olympics, was named and won of the doctors who obtained and help administer the doping.
Rasmussen's case against Rabobank hangs on the question whether he lied to the Rabobank team about his whereabouts. Witnesses have now testified that the Rabobank team knew Rasmussen's whereabouts when he missed the out of competition tests, the reason he was sacked by Rabobank.
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Any update on this?
 
No mate, Rasmussen is suing Rabobank for breach of contract, we'll have to wait until that court case has finished.

However.... Le Monde reporting that Real Madrid and Barcelona were using Fuentes' doping expertise between 2006 - 2010!!!

Fuentes' lawyer, Tomas Valvidielso, has claimed to the Associated Press that Real Madrid have debts with Fuentes from 'working' with them in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Things are starting to get big..
 
Real Madrid already made a statement this afternoon, claiming the 'debt' is for some expenses/compensation due to the fact he had to testify in court in a case versus Le Monde.

Fuentes himself or his lawyer also confirmed it had nothing to do with doping.

Madrid said:
Fuentes is asking to be paid for his travel and lodging expenses when he was called to act as a witness, and Madrid has no problem with paying him when he produces the necessary receipts
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King_Eric said:
Real Madrid already made a statement this afternoon, claiming the 'debt' is for some expenses/compensation due to the fact he had to testify in court in a case versus Le Monde.

Fuentes himself or his lawyer also confirmed it had nothing to do with doping.
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What the feck are Madrid doing paying a trained gynecologist and notorious doping doctor travel expenses in 2007, 2008 and 2009?
 
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