The Spanish anti-doping fight is in turmoil. The Superior Sports Council (CSD), the highest sporting authority in Spain, announced in a press release, published Friday January 5 in the evening, that it had transmitted to the judicial authorities the results of an investigation launched following a complaint about “alleged irregularities in the use of public funds as well as in the control and sanctioning of doping by Celad”the Spanish agency to combat doping in sport.
According to the online sports media Relevo, Celad took advantage of bureaucratic loopholes to conceal cases of doping.
It will now be up to the public prosecutor to decide on possible prosecutions. But already, the CSD has asked the director of Celad, José Luis Terreros, to resign due to “the damage to the reputation of Spanish sport and our control system”.
In case of refusal, the president of the CSD and the Minister of Education and Sports, Pilar Alegría, “will propose at the next Celad board of directors the dismissal of Mr. Terreros”warns the authority, which also said “fully prepared to work loyally with the World Anti-Doping Agency [AMA] ».
WADA criticized the Spanish anti-doping agency on Friday and threatened to take action “significant for Spanish sport” if doping cases were not dealt with “quickly and efficiently”. “We are well aware of the deep problems in the fight against doping in Spain”said Witold Banka, the president of WADA who opened an investigation, in a statement.
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