Spain asks anti-doping head to resign amid malpractice accusations،
BARCELONA, Spain — Spain's Superior Sports Council, its main government sports authority, has publicly called for the resignation of the director of its anti-doping agency after accusations of professional misconduct.
A complaint against the agency's director, José Luis Terreros, led to a ministerial investigation. The Sports Council said on Friday that the accusations included financial irregularities as well as irregularities in doping controls and sanctions, without elaborating.
The council requested the resignation of Terreros given “the events and the damage to the reputation that Spanish sport and our system of [doping] control could be faced,” according to the press release.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) issued its own statement on Friday that was highly critical of Spain.
WADA said it was “aware of ongoing issues” within the Spanish agency “including several issues related to controls and results management.” This included concerns over the implementation of Spain's 2021 anti-doping law, backed by WADA.
If Terreros does not resign, Education and Sports Minister Pilar Alegría and council president José Rodriguez Uribes would request his dismissal, the sports council said.
The Alegría Ministry shared the findings of its internal investigation with Spanish prosecutors on Tuesday. The investigation, the board said, was launched after one or more anonymous individuals filed complaints about “alleged irregularities in the use of public funds and in the testing and sanctions for doping by the National Anti-Doping Organization of Spain (CELAD).”
The board said it is up to state prosecutors to determine whether there is reason to believe illegal acts were committed. The anti-doping agency will also undergo a review of its protocols and practices, the board said.
The President of the Council, Rodríguez Uribes, said: “Spain's commitment is that all athletes compete under equal conditions and that the purity of sport prevails, objectives which are achieved by guaranteeing the strictest respect for the code world anti-doping.”
“We are fully aware of the deep-rooted problems in the Spanish anti-doping fight,” said WADA President Witold Bańka. “I am disappointed with the level of cooperation we have received from CELAD as we seek to improve the system for Spanish athletes. The fact that there are positive cases that have not been dealt with in a timely manner, despite a regular monitoring by WADA, is unacceptable.”
Bańka added that if the problems are not resolved quickly, “it is clear that there will be significant consequences for Spanish sport.”
