The Spanish doping scandal is a severe blow to the reputation of a successful sports country, says a Spanish lawyer familiar with anti-doping work.
During the Olympic year, Spanish sport has drifted into an international scandal.
The country’s anti-doping authority, Celad (Comición Española para la Lucha Antidopaje en el Deporte), is suspected of hiding positive doping samples and irregular testing.
Read more: In Spain, a gigantic doping scandal – the carts have been overlooked for years
Spanish websites Relevon and El Diario investigative journalists have reported that several doping cartels have been printed with wool in recent years. For example, sprinters have come to the fore Patrick Chinedu Iken and a marathon runner Majida Maayouf cases.
In 2019, Ike was caught using, among other things, the anabolic steroid nandrolone, but was allowed to compete until 2023.
In 2020, Maayouf, the Spanish record holder in the marathon, gave a positive doping sample for the drug terbutaline, which is banned in sports. According to the Relevo website, Celad’s anti-doping boss Jesús Muñoz-Guerra then urged Maayoufi to apply for exemption for the use of the substance.
Many other oddities and problems have been revealed in Celad’s operation. The Spanish media is aware of 5-6 doping cases that have survived with the help of a biological passport. The athletes in question have still not been punished.
– When this kind of thing has happened in other countries, the World Anti-Doping Agency Wada has considered the violations really bad. Although it is now Spain and not Russia or Kenya, this is just as serious. It’s all about scandals that have had no consequences, a sports lawyer familiar with anti-doping activities Alberto Yelmo says to Urheilu.
Big changes are required
Yelmo worked for several years in international anti-doping work. Today, he works at the Ernesto Díaz-Bastien & Asociados Abogados law firm.
According to him, the problems related to Spanish anti-doping activities have been known to people in the field for a long time.
– In 2017, Celad’s management changed. Since then, there have been many breaches. It’s hard to say whether it’s deliberate actions or carelessness. However, the fact is that there are outdated samples at the bottom of the cabinets and the testing has been done against the rules, says Yelmo.
– The task of Wada, the World Anti-Doping Agency, is now to find out how this could have continued for so many years.
Both the Spanish prosecutor and Wada have announced that they are investigating Celad’s activities. According to Yelmo, the only option is to immediately overhaul the entire Spanish anti-doping operation.
– The current system has brought Spain into the middle of an international scandal. Hard to see that the people who belong to it could restore Spain’s reputation. Wada must lead this change and ensure that unpunished doping cases are properly dealt with.
The Spanish scandal has been embarrassing not only for Celadi but also for the World Anti-Doping Agency. According to the Relevo website, Wada has been aware of at least some inaccuracies, as unpunished carters have been marked in the international ADAMS system.
Celadi’s anti-doping officer Jesús Muñoz-Guerra is under criminal investigation on suspicion of falsifying public documents. Yet Wada’s ITA (International Testing Agency) recently appointed him to plan a reanalysis of samples from the Rio 2016 Olympics.
According to Yelmo, Wada is in a difficult place.
– There have been problems like Spain before in the world. Wada has control mechanisms precisely to prevent this from happening today.
The investigation of the cases is only at the beginning, but according to Yelmo, the blow has already been very severe for the Spanish sports power.
– Since the 90s, our sports have been overshadowed by the doping problem and the fact that the country’s government does not care about the fight against doping. Now the international headlines are again about doping instead of our sporting success.
– This happened at the worst possible time, because the Olympic Games in Paris are already close.