MADRID, 5 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Higher Sports Council (CSD) requested this Friday the resignation of José Luis Terreros, director of the Spanish Commission for the Fight against Doping in Sports (CELAD), “following a complaint for alleged irregularities in the use of public funds” and also for alleged malpractice in anti-doping controls, including possible concealment of positive cases in Spanish athletes.
José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, president of the CSD, made such a request “given the nature of the events and the reputational damage to which Spanish sport is exposed” and its consequences on the “control system” in CELAD, according to a note from press released by the Council itself.
The same note recalled that the CSD already transferred to the State Attorney General's Office on January 2 the result of an investigation carried out within the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports for these alleged irregularities with public funds and for “the control and sanctioning of doping” made by CELAD.
“This decision, adopted with the utmost respect for the presumption of innocence, has the approval of the Undersecretariat of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports and the State Attorney's Office and responds to the commitment to provide the fight against doping of the highest standards of transparency, effectiveness, efficiency and security,” added the press text.
Thus, the CSD pointed out that “it must be the Prosecutor's Office that assesses whether there are rational indications of the commission of a crime.” “At the same time, we cannot allow the slightest suspicion or doubt in relation to the fight against doping and the system that must guarantee fair play, the integrity of competitions and preserve the health of athletes,” he added to the statement. of press.
If the resignation does not occur, Minister Pilar Alegría and the president of the CSD “will propose within the framework of the next Governing Council of CELAD the dismissal of Mr. Terreros,” according to the note. “In addition, they will propose a review of the internal functioning of CELAD in the interest of maximum control and maximum transparency,” the text continued.
Finally, Rodríguez Uribes reiterated “Spain's commitment to ensuring that all athletes compete on equal terms and that the purity of sport prevails, which involves guaranteeing strict compliance with the World Code and anti-doping regulations, in order to that the strictest control measures are always implemented and a sporting culture that values the ethics and integrity of all competitions is fostered.
“To this end, Spain underlines its total willingness to loyally collaborate with the World Anti-Doping Agency,” the CSD concluded in its note. This came after Witold Banka, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), “strongly rejected the suggestion that he would ever turn a blind eye” to any case of doping.