Cycling: Eufemiano Fuentes was acquitted by a court in Madrid today, ten years after the Operación Puerto became known. The Court of Appeal also decided that the 211 blood bags seized as evidence should not be destroyed as originally decided, but should be handed over to the relevant anti-doping agencies.
In April 2013, a Spanish court made the first judgment in the Cause Operación Puerto: At that time, Eufemiano Fuentes was sentenced to a year in prison and a four-year ban from working. In addition, coach José Ignacio Labarta had to go behind bars for four months for aiding and abetting. In the course of the investigation, the police seized and confiscated 211 blood bags in Fuente's practice. According to the ruling at the time, these should be kept and destroyed in the near future.
Shortly after the verdict was pronounced at the time, the Spanish public prosecutor's office appealed what they considered to be too light a sentence. The investigations and the process dragged on until today: But to the surprise of most of those involved - especially the public prosecutor's office - the court of appeal overturned the verdict in favor of Fuentes. The judge subsequently acquitted the doctor and also lifted the still existing professional ban. The reasoning for the judgment states that when the scandal was uncovered in Spain in 2006, there were no anti-doping laws and Fuentes' actions were therefore not punishable. In addition, the court ruled that autologous blood doping does not pose a health risk and thus also rejected this argument of the public prosecutor's office.
Perhaps even more significant than Fuentes' acquittal is the court's decision that the blood bags confiscated at the time will not be destroyed as originally ordered, but made available to the relevant associations and agencies - the judgment explicitly names WADA and the UCI, among others be asked. The effects of this decision are difficult to foresee at this point in time: Only a few professionals from that time are still active today. However, among the few names there are also top drivers such as the two Spaniards Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde. Due to statutes of limitations, however, it seems unlikely that there will be subsequent bans - especially since Valverde had already been banned for a year in the course of the revelations at the time. The blood tests are not just limited to cycling, Fuentes had stated in the original process that he had also worked with athletes from other sports.
For now, there is nothing to do but wait and see - neither WADA nor the UCI have commented on the verdict and their next steps.
Leave a Comment