Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who is on trial for allegedly masterminding one of sport’s most notorious doping rings, said on Wednesday that he would be willing to give the names of his former sports clients to the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency if asked to do so.
“If they felt I was useful and they asked me, I would consider it and would be willing. What I don’t know is if what I would give them would be worthwhile to them or not,” he said at his trial. “If within this cooperation such a list was necessary, they would have it.”
Fuentes is on trial with his sister, Yolanda, and three other defendants from cycling teams in one of the most high-profile cases over a blood doping racket, with dozens of suspects in cycling and possibly other sports.
The five are accused of endangering public health, but not incitement to doping, which was not a crime in Spain at the time of their arrests in 2006 as part of the so-called “Operation Puerto” investigation.
Police raids on premises linked to Fuentes in May 2006 saw the seizure of about 200 bags of tampered blood labeled with a complex system of codes and a virtual pharmacy of performance-enhancing substances.
Fuentes told the court at the start of his trial in January that he worked with athletes from a wide range of sports to help them deal with anemia issues and not performance-enhancing doping.
He reiterated his innocence on Wednesday as he left the courthouse.
“Everything which I did, I did in accordance with the laws in place at the time. In 35 years, I have not caused any harm to any patient. To regret having carried out my professional work as best as I could would not make any sense,” he told reporters.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS