On Tuesday, a Spanish court ruled that blood bags of the Puerto Operation should be handed over to authorities for investigation.
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The blood bags will be released to the Spanish cycling federation, World Anti-Doping Agency, Union Cycliste Internationale and the Italian Olympic Committee.
“Attention to the aim pursued is to fight against doping, which undermines the essential ethical value of sport, which is fair play to prevent competition on equal terms”, a statement from the Court read.
Tuesday’s ruling was the latest twist in a 10-year-old case that revealed a doping network involving a Spanish sports doctor and some of the world’s top cyclists, a number of whom, including 1997 Tour de France victor Jan Ullrich, were subsequently suspended from the sport.
Fuentes was found guilty of endangering public health in a 2013 trial, but the judge at the time refused to give anti-doping authorities access to the 211 blood bags seized in 2006 from his apartments, and ordered them destroyed on privacy grounds.
The Court also ruled that Eufemiano Fuentes and Jose Ignacio Labarta, who had been a sport director at the Comunidad Valenciana team at the time of the initial case, have both been acquitted of public health charges.
Dr. Fuentes, who was the culprit, had had his one-year jail sentence revoked because the blood samples could not be considered as medication.
Fuentes said during a 2013 trial that he also worked with athletes from other sports, but the judge back then said he didn’t have to name anyone who was not implicated in the cycling case.
Wada’s statute of limitations has long since expired – Puerto fell under the old eight-year code rather than the new 10-year code, which anyway passed last month – and it is far from clear whether any prosecutions will be possible should new evidence of doping be uncovered.
Despite 50 cyclists originally being linked to the case, only Alejandro Valverde, Ivan Basso and Michele Scarponi in Italy and Jan Ullrich and Jorg Jaksche in Germany were suspended. “We have to see what the implications are regarding the statute of limitations”.
“WADA is very pleased with the decision of the court to release the blood bags”, WADA President Craig Reedie told The Associated Press. Yeah, so the guy won’t get two years, big deal. This was appealed by the prosecuting parties.
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Top players from tennis, football and other high profile sports also been alleged to have been a part of the doping ring.
