Former British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman found guilty of ordering banned testosterone
ByReuters
Updated 12/03/2021 at 16:38 GMT
Former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman was found guilty of ordering testosterone "knowing or believing it was to be administered to an athlete to improve their athletic performance", a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service ruled on Friday. Freeman was charged with ordering 30 sachets of banned substance Testogel.
A portrait of Richard Freeman, a member of the Great Britain Olympic Cycling team during the Team GB Kitting Out ahead of Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Image credit: Getty Images
Doctor Richard Freeman has been found guilty of ordering testosterone, "knowing or believing it was to be administered to an athlete".
More than two years after the tribunal in the case against Freeman had begun, the MPTS delivered a damning verdict on the conduct of the doctor, who worked for Team Sky and British Cycling during a golden period of success between 2009 and 2017.
Freeman was charged with ordering 30 sachets of Testogel to the national velodrome in Manchester for an unnamed athlete in 2011 and admitted to destroying a laptop with "a screwdriver or blunt instrument" before passing it on to forensic experts conducting a UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) investigation.
Freeman had previously admitted to 18 of the 22 charges against him including purchasing banned testosterone, lying to the UKAD and keeping haphazard records.
However, after initially saying the Testogel had been ordered in error, he then stated he was bullied into ordering the banned substance by former head coach Shane Sutton, who wanted it to treat erectile dysfunction, a claim Sutton had denied and which the tribunal found to be an "elaborate falsehood" as Freeman sought to cover his tracks.
"The tribunal had found that you, Dr Freeman, placed the order, and obtained the Testogel, knowing or believing it was to be administered to an athlete to improve their athletic performance. The motive for your action was to conceal a conduct," the chair of the MPTS, Neil Dalton, said.
Freeman's hearing will continue on March 17 when the tribunal will consider if the doctor's "fitness to practise is impaired".
The protracted case against Freeman began in November 2019 but was continually adjourned on medical grounds, with his lawyer Mary O'Rourke saying he was too unwell to attend.
It resumed last October but was adjourned again in November.
Freeman has been at the centre of several controversies surrounding Team Sky, now known as Ineos Grenadiers.
In 2018 a British parliamentary committee report accused Team Sky of crossing an "ethical line" by using permitted medication to enhance the performance of riders.
A statement from Ineos Grenadiers said: "The Team fully supports the work of the GMC and it is very clear from their report that Richard Freeman fell short of the ethical standards required of him as a doctor and acted dishonestly.
"However, the Team does not believe that any athlete ever used or sought to use Testogel or any other performance-enhancing substance. No evidence has been provided that this ever happened or that there has been any wrongdoing by any athlete at any point."
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