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Mo Farah denies breaking drug rules, says media are acting as ‘judge and jury’

Tom Bennett

Updated 26/02/2017 at 13:52 GMT

Mo Farah says he is “deeply frustrated” after a report in the Sunday Times accused his coach Alberto Salazar of endangering his health by “abusing prohibited drug infusions”.

Great Britain's Mo Farah celebrates winning the Men's 5000m

Image credit: Reuters

The four-time Olympic Champion took to social media to release a statement on issue, denying any wrongdoing and asserting that he is a clean athlete.
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US coach Alberto Salazar (C) hugs Britain's Mo Farah (R) and US athlete Galen Rupp (L) following the men's 5,000 metres final at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Daegu on September 4, 2011

Image credit: AFP

Farah said:
It's deeply frustrating that I’m having to make an announcement on this subject. I am a clean athlete who has never broken the rules in regards to substances, methods or dosages and it is upsetting that some parts of the media, despite the clear facts, continue to try to associate me with allegations of drug misuse.
The story in question did not directly claim that Farah has broken doping rules, and Farah says that adding his name to make the story more eye-catching is “entirely unfair”:
I’m unclear as to the Sunday Times’s motivations towards me but I do understand that using my name and profile makes the story more interesting but its entirely unfair to make assertions when it is clear from their own statements that I have done nothing wrong. As I’ve said many times before we all should do everything we can to have a clean sport and it is entirely right that anyone who breaks the rules should be punished. However, this should be done through proper process and if USADA or any other Anti-Doping Body has evidence of wrongdoing they should publish it and take action rather than allow the media to be judge and jury.
The initial allegations of wrongdoing against Salazar surfaced in 2015, but Farah and UK Athletics stuck by the coach and an investigation was dropped by the US Anti-Doping Authority in June 2016.
USADA responded to the latest leak with a statement of their own.
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