Spain's anti-doping agency CELAD has come under heavy scrutiny over the past 18 months after a series of malpractices came to light. At one point it even threatened the participation of Spanish athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
In football, the most high-profile case is Alejandro 'Papu' Gomez, the former Sevilla player who tested positive for a banned substance in 2022. Months later he would win the World Cup with Argentina, the investigation showed. is undergoing treatment and has since been banned from football for two years. Gomez still maintains his innocence and says he unknowingly took the substance as medicine.
According to Relevo, CELAD archived eleven cases involving positive tests of footballers between 2017 and 2021 without opening an investigation. The reason given was a 'medical justification' for the positive substance, after the initial procedure had been opened, and was accepted by CELAD without further questions. The cases were archived and for all intents and purposes there was no mention of them, a practice not permitted under the protocol.
In a sixth case, involving Rayo Vallecano striker Raul de Tomas, an investigation was opened and the result was deemed contamination of the sample in 2017. He received a symbolic punishment of a month-long ban and a fine of € 3,000. when the sanction provided is a four-year ban.
One of the archived cases concerns then Almeria midfielder Yan Eteki in 2017, who was administered Betamethasone by Almeria medical staff without applying for a special medical permit for its use. That case was one of the cases that was archived without following protocol.
Over the past year, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has been working with CELAD to improve practices, with the latter seeking to demonstrate adherence to the standards required by WADA.
Comments