The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Puerto doctor gets jail term, evidence to be destroyed Posted: 30 Apr 2013 08:38 AM PDT MADRID, April 30 — Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, the central figure in the Operation Puerto probe into a doping ring in cycling, was given a one-year prison sentence for crimes against public health today.
Co-defendant Ignacio Labarta received a four-month jail term and was also barred from practice for four years, while Manolo Saiz, Vicente Belda and Fuentes's sister Yolanda were all cleared. "It is shameful, I sincerely don't know why they bother charging a person in order to deliver a verdict like that," former cyclist Jesus Manzano, who gave evidence in the case, told Reuters Television. "You don't have to be a judge to deliver a sentence like that, a builder could it." Former team director Saiz said: "For me Operation Puerto is over and I want to turn that page and to thank my family and lawyer and my friends for all their support over the years...and to a cyclist in particular, Carlos Sastre. "He remembered me when he was in the Tour de France and that meant a lot to me." As Spain's current anti-doping legislation was not in force in 2006 when police seized anabolic steroids, transfusion equipment and blood bags in raids, the five were tried only for violating public health regulations. The public prosecutor had asked for jail sentences of two years. "It has been proven that since at least 2002 Fuentes was carrying out practices consistent with those of blood extraction..for later re-infusion..with the aim to artificially increase the physical performance of the cyclist," the verdict said. AVOID DETECTION "In some cases, on top of the extraction and re-infusion of blood, Fuentes dispensed to the cyclists certain specialised pharmaceutical products included on the list of substances banned in sport." The report listed substances such as EPO, growth hormones and testosterone. "Fuentes planned the system...co-ordinated their physical preparation with a view to the calendar of competitions in a season for each cyclist," the report added. "The end was to optimise competition results and at the same time to help the cyclist avoid detection in the anti-doping controls." The practice of boosting the flow of oxygen in the blood, the use of banned substances, and the methods used constituted "an important risk for the health of the cyclist." The Puerto case has attracted international attention because some of Fuentes's clients were successful professional riders, including American Tyler Hamilton who gave evidence in February. Fuentes, who denied doping and is unlikely to serve his sentence, said in his opening testimony he also had clients in sports including soccer, tennis, athletics and boxing. The decision not to release the evidence, and for it to be destroyed when the case is closed after any potential appeals, was a blow to other bodies represented during the trial. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Cycling Union (UCI), the Spanish Cycling Federation and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) had all been keen to secure names of sportsmen involved and to search for evidence of wrongdoing by athletes in other sports. Spain was hoping the trial would help to dispel the impression that the nation was soft on doping and boost Madrid's bid to win the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games. The country is pushing through parliament anti-doping legislation which the government says will bring Spain into line with international norms— Reuters |
| Tokyo governor apologises for remarks on Muslims, Istanbul Posted: 30 Apr 2013 12:20 AM PDT  TOKYO, April 30 — Tokyo's outspoken governor, Naoki Inose, who heads the city's bid for the 2020 Olympics, apologised today for "inappropriate" comments he made about rival candidate Istanbul and Islamic countries. The remarks, made in a recent New York Times interview, prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to investigate, while Turkey's sports minister said they were "unfair and disheartening" and "did not comply with the spirit of the values of the Olympic Movement". "Islamic countries, the only thing they share in common is Allah and they are fighting with each other, and they have classes," Inose, who was elected Tokyo governor last year, said in the interview. "For the athletes, where will be the best place to be? Well, compare the two countries where they have yet to build infrastructure, very sophisticated facilities," he said. Tokyo is competing with Istanbul and Madrid to hold the Olympics for a second time after becoming the first Asian city to host the multi-sport event in 1964. Istanbul is bidding for a fifth time after its previous campaigns were unsuccessful. "I said that Islamic countries fight, it was an inappropriate remark and I want to correct it," Inose told reporters at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building today. He accepted that the New York Times story was correct, adding that he would not seek a correction from the paper. "I apologise. My remarks caused misunderstandings among people from Muslim countries, so I would like to unequivocally apologise." Inose's remarks sparked concern in Tokyo that it might affect the Japanese capital's bid for the Games as IOC rules ban candidates from making comments on fellow competitors. Tokyo had yet to respond to an email from the authority enquiring about the meaning of the remarks, a spokesman for the bid said. "If my remarks (on Istanbul) caused any misunderstanding I would like to apologise for them," said Inose, adding that it was a "good experience" and he now understood where the "lines are drawn". "I want to keep campaigning strictly in accordance with the IOC rules that one should not criticise other cities," he said. "From now on I will campaign along these proper guidelines with respect to other cities' bids so that such incidents don't happen any more." A key aspect of the Tokyo bid is that many of its venues have already been constructed. Tokyo planners also emphasise the compactness of its offer, with 85 percent of the venues located within an 8km radius of the Olympic Village. The hosts for the 2020 Games will be decided at the next IOC Session in Argentina in September. — Reuters |
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