The Government has requested the resignation of José Luis Terreros, the director of the State Anti-Doping Agency (CELAD), as a result of the irregularities in his management revealed by, among other media, elDiario.es. As this newspaper has learned from sources in the Executive and the cabinet has later confirmed through a statement, the president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD) José Manuel Rodríguez-Uribes has already requested the dismissal of Terreros and, if he does not leave , both he and the Minister of Education and Sports, who is also the spokesperson for the Government, Pilar Alegría, will formally ask him again during the next meeting of the CELAD Governing Council.
In the text, the Government recalls how last Tuesday the Higher Sports Council (CSD) transferred to the State Attorney General’s Office the result of an investigation carried out within the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports following a complaint by alleged irregularities in the use of public funds and in the control and sanction of doping 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,” says the Executive.
After recalling that the CSD has also forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office the reports submitted by Terreros on his practice, the Government points out that “it must be the Prosecutor’s Office that assesses whether there are rational indications of the commission of a crime.”
However, considering that “the slightest suspicion or doubt cannot be allowed 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”, In his note he explains that the president of the CSD, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, has requested Terreros “his resignation.” “If this does not occur, Minister Pilar Alegría and the president of the Higher Sports Council, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, will propose within the framework of the next Governing Council of CELAD the dismissal of Mr. Terreros,” they highlight.
In addition, they will propose a review of the internal functioning of CELAD “for the sake of maximum control and maximum transparency.” However, Uribes reiterates “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.
Precisely, the ministry’s decision comes just a few hours after the World Anti-Doping Agency (AMA) warned in a harsh statement that it would adopt measures that would affect all of Spanish sport if the Government did not take urgent measures in response to the irregularities detected.
“WADA can confirm that for several months, within its compliance program, it has been aware of problems related to CELAD, including several problems related to testing and the management of its results,” the agency explained.
elDiario.es uncovered that the Spanish organization had been hiding since 2019, for example, the positive result for nandrolone of sprinter Patrick Chinedu Ike, which had not even been reported. CELAD only opened the case in November, after an investigation by the Ministry of Education after receiving an internal complaint.
This same Friday, the president of the AMA, Witold Bańka, declared: “I am disappointed with the level of cooperation we received from CELAD […] “The fact that there are positives that have not been managed in time, despite the monitoring of the AMA, is unacceptable.” Until Thursday, CELAD maintained that the AMA knew and supported its entire management.
The aforementioned organization stated that it sent the positives through a biological passport and that it could not sanction them due to a ruling by the National Court that, with the support of the State Attorney’s Office, suspended the sanction against the cyclist Ibai Salas. However, the president of the AMA corrected the Spanish agency this Friday: “If all these issues are not addressed quickly and effectively, then there will be significant consequences for Spanish sport.”
As elDiario.es announced, the Higher Sports Council (CSD) itself has sent its internal investigation to the Prosecutor’s Office in case it detects a crime in the irregularities of the Agency that José Luis Terreros has directed since 2017. He remains in office. The new Ministry of Education, which took over Sports after the remodeling of the Government, has found itself with the case exploding as soon as it took office. He hopes to convene a CELAD governing council soon.
Source: www.eldiario.es
