SORRY STATE OF AFFAIRS FOR UK SPORT

The revelations emerging from the DCMS report should surprise nobody. We have been here so many times before — global cycling and athletics have both been rife with doping scandals for decades, some suspicious and others blatant.

But the fact that allegations of doping and the subsequent cover ups have reached the highest echelons of the UK’s most respected sporting bodies and athletes is damning indeed. Accusations of “unethical behavior”, “unprofessionalism” and “misleading parliament” are all mentioned in the select committee’s report. Hardly words associated with organizations that for years have claimed to be a beacon of fair play in a sea of drug-taking.

It is time UK sports authorities stopped taking a “holier than thou” attitude — especially given their finger-pointing at Russia and that country’s doping scandal — and held their hands up. Those in Britain were dismayed when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently lifted the suspension of Russia following its ban from Olympic participation. Now, their moral high ground has become somewhat lower.

The British public are told consistently that its athletes are clean and that the recent admirable sporting success could be put down to the sheer talent of the competitors — but more importantly, continued investment and strong leadership from the top. These claims by the DCMS seriously dent that proposition. In the murky world of doping, British sport can no longer claim to be a leading light.