Dan Carter doping case reopened by anti-doping agency
French rugby boss Bernard Laporte says the sport has nothing to hide as anti-doping bosses reopen the case against Dan Carter, Joe Rokocoko and Juan Imhoff.
The Racing 92 star imports were cleared of any wrong doing by a French Rugby Federation investigation after they tested positive for corticosteroids following last season’s Top 14 final in which Racing beat Toulon 29-21. But an unexpected development sees the the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) wanting to investigate the matter and has called all three to appear at hearings with a date yet to be confirmed.
Laporte, the former Toulon and France coach who has taken charge of the French game, played down the latest twist.
‘‘It’s not because they think there’s a fault,’’ Laporte told news agency AFP.
‘‘On the contrary, the more transparency there is, the better.
‘‘They’re doing their job, they have the right to check. You can’t be scared of that. At Toulon, we were tested six times in one year.
‘‘We have nothing to hide. They’ll get to the bottom of things.’’
It is felt that the anti-doping body wants to determine if the rates of corticosteroids registered are consistent with the treatments reported by the Racing 92 club doctor and with the method by which they were supposedly administered.
Racing 92, a glamour Paris ouytfit, have previously denied that the players breached antidoping rules or obtained a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) to take otherwise banned substances.
They claim the case relates to ‘‘treatment by an authorised channel’’ and that they are ‘‘on the side of law, ethics and love of a clean sport’’.