At the start of the 2024 Olympic year, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has issued a warning and announced further investigation into allegations against Spain’s National Anti-Doping Agency (CELAD).
Allegations include a wide range of allegations, including unregulated positive cases, poorly regulated testing and result management, delays in time between positive test results and athlete notification, and unapproved biological passports for athletes. It was
The complaint against CELAD was made by a Spanish online sports news site. Relevo In a series of articles spanning.
Wada’s warning
Wada President Witold Banka WADA said it had been investigating the matter for some time, was aware of the “deep-seated issues” and was following due process in conducting a thorough investigation.
“We are disappointed with the level of cooperation we have received from CELAD as we aim to improve the system for Spanish athletes,” Banca said. “…it is clear that if we do not address this quickly and effectively, there will be serious consequences for Spanish sport.”
On the same day as WADA’s statement, Spanish High Council for Sports They called on CELAD coach José Luis Terreros to resign, citing “incidents and reputational damage to Spanish sport and our institutions”. [doping] Control may be faced. ” The council said if he did not resign, the Minister of Education and Sports and the council president would move to remove him.
The head of the Doping Control Unit, Dr. Jesús Muñoz Guerra, was also criticized by Relevo. Muñoz Guerra was also involved, so his alleged involvement could be serious. just named it As one of the experts of an IOC-recognized international testing organization Rio 2016 Doping Reanalysis Testing Project.
The WADA warning is not the first in the history of Spain’s anti-doping agency.rear 2016: The Year of Compliance Due to the national political impasse, WADA approved an improved and current version of CELAD.Spain is back 2021 WADA Non-Compliance ListHowever, CELAD has been removed from the list To update our practices.
Mr. Wada’s statement Documents addressing the allegations by Relevo were released on January 5th. The main points of WADA’s response and complaint against CELAD are as follows:
unregulated positive cases
in either Relebo report, they claim WADA knew about the unregulated positive test of Japanese record-holder marathon runner Majida Mayyouf. Relevo claims that Jesús Muñoz Guerra, head of CELAD’s doping control department, informed Mayuh about her. Positive test for banned drug terbutaline and proposed a retroactive medical exemption.
The medical exemption rule that Relevo said would cover a positive test was a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). Due to a typo in the approved permit, the date originally approved did not include the time of Mr Mayuf’s positive test.
Relevo later said Muñoz Guerra revised the details to include up to a year before the positive case. Normally, the committee does not know of a positive test result at the time of evaluation, but in this case it did because of the suspected prior information mentioned above.
Relevo claims that WADA: There are cracks in the control system for monitoring positive tests.
in Wada’s reply, they didn’t even name the specific case or Relevo. They simply refer to “recent media reports related to the allegations.” However, WADA insisted it rejected the idea of ”turning a blind eye to valid litigation.”
The agency says it thoroughly pursues all cases brought to it within the practicalities of its results management process, and some cases are still pending.
Testing and results management
another suspicion That is, CELAD directors José Luis Terreros and Muñoz Guerra were aware of the regulations, which were intentionally contrary to Spanish regulations. Relevo claims that in the control, only one qualified employee was present for the drug test, rather than the two required.
Relevo also claims that Professional Worldwide Controls (PWC), the company that conducts CELAD’s testing, intentionally used the agent as a way to save money, knowing that Muñoz Guerra would overlook this during approval. claimed to have been reduced.
WADA said it had been aware of the testing and results management issues for several months as part of its compliance monitoring program. According to WADA, CELAD has received a corrective action report from WADA related to this issue that requires urgent action.
Legal and enforcement issues
A Royal Decree approved in October 2023 changes Article 29 of the Regulations to allow sample collection teams to have only one eligible doping agent.
Relebo says CELAD’s open price agreement for PWCs was signed in 2020, meaning they should operate on the budget of two qualified agents.
However, Relevo claims that the current contract between CELAD and PWC has amended clauses to reflect the requirements of “domestic regulations” and allows for flexibility in the number of agents to suit budgeting. doing.
Relevo also said CELAD did not update the 2020 regulations that set a budget for two agents instead of one, so CELAD will continue to pay the price of two for one eligible agent. .
WADA says CELAD did not discuss the non-compliance prior to the amendment to the Royal Decree in October 2023. In a statement, WADA asserts how the World Anti-Doping Code can reserve the right to request amendments to the law if it is applied incorrectly or in a contradictory manner.
The group also said this could create further compliance issues for CELAD in the coming weeks.
WADA expressed further doubts regarding both CELAD and Spain’s anti-doping program, particularly regarding the 2021 Law. WADA supported the passage of the bill, but said its interpretation and enforcement did not comply with the World Anti-Doping Code.
delayed case
Relevo also claims CELAD allows up to a year to pass between opening a case file against an athlete and communicating with them.
Relevo said in the article that when an unnamed national team player tested positive, they waited 365 days to notify the player by mail rather than electronically, and the player was sanctioned after the deadline. The athlete appealed through the Administrative Court for Sport, which ruled in her favor because of her notice of sanction past the legal deadline.
Relevo specifically cited the example of national team athlete Patrick Chinedu Ike, who was not sanctioned for testing in 2019. They claim that despite the positive results being published in WADA’s ADAMS system, CELAD never opened the file or sanctioned the athlete.
WADA said it was pursuing CELAD, particularly regarding “apparently delayed pending cases.”
Athlete Biological Passport (ABP)
Relevo also says Terreros told Marca newspaper in early 2022 that there were “five or six” cases of unauthorized Athlete Biological Passports (APBs). ABP It aims to track biological variables over time that indirectly reveal doping, with the aim of countering targeted testing. Relevo said there has been no change in ABP’s status in the two years since this statement.
WADA said in a statement that it had taken the “highly unusual action” of removing three ABP cases from CELAD management in 2023. The organization handed over the incident to the “relevant international federations.”
Regarding the two additional ABP cases, WADA said CELAD has also imposed strict deadlines for making decisions. In its urgent action report to CELAD, WADA specifically called for CELAD to address its lagging case numbers. They also said the matter is ongoing.
Read WADA’s full statement here.