Top clubs fume over ‘false’ claims that dodgy doctor supplied stars with drugs
PREMIER LEAGUE rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester have reacted with fury to doping allegations levelled at them by a London- based private doctor.
Yesterday The Sunday Times published a report claiming Mark Bonar, 38, prescribed drugs such as human growth hormone EPO and steroids to more than 150 athletes, among them footballers from Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester as well as Championship club Birmingham. But yesterday, the clubs insisted the allegations were false, pointing to the fact that the newspaper was unable to corroborate any of the evidence obtained by secretly filming Bonar.
Arsenal said they were ‘ extremely disappointed’ by the publication of the claims, ‘which are without foundation’.
Chelsea said the claims are ‘false and entirely without foundation’, a position echoed by Premier League leaders Leicester.
A statement from Chelsea said they had ‘never used the services of Dr Bonar and have no knowledge or record of any of our players having been treated by him or using his services’.
The Sunday Times report also claimed a former Chelsea fitness coach, Rob Brinded, had ‘collaborated’ with Bonar, something Brinded denies. Bonar has also denied the allegations. Brinded admitted meeting Bonar, but distanced himself from the doctor and the allegations in a statement.
‘I do not and have not ever worked or collaborated with Dr Bonar,’ said Brinded. ‘I have never referred any athletes to him and, to the best of my knowledge, none of my clients, athletes or otherwise, take performance-enhancing drugs.’
He added: ‘I categorically deny that I have ever said that anyone at Chelsea Football Club took performance-enhancing drugs.’
Leicester said: ‘We are extremely disappointed that The Sunday Times has published unsubstantiated allegations referring to players from clubs including Leicester City when, on its own admission, it has insufficient evidence to support the claims.’
Birmingham City said: ‘ The club have not used the services of Mark Bonar and have no knowledge or record of any of our players, past or present, doing so.’
But UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) chief executive Nicole Sapstead was facing calls for her resignation because of the organisation’s apparent failure to pass on information on Bonar to the General Medical Council in 2014.
UKAD have ordered an independent review to establish whether the decision-making process was sound. And John Whittingdale, the Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, has called for an urgent investigation into the allegations.
The Sunday Times secretly filmed Bonar claiming he had prescribed banned drugs to elite sports professionals from the UK and abroad over the past six years, including several Premier League footballers, British Tour de France cyclists, an England cricketer, a boxer and tennis professionals. Bonar is an unregistered former general practitioner already embroiled in a misconduct hearing with the General Medical Council. Bonar’s name was given to UKAD in 2014 by a cyclist, Dan Stevens, who was trying to reduce a ban for refusing to provide a sample. Stevens provided UKAD with more than 100 names, 69 of whom were related to sport. Dr Bonar was on the list.
Pat Myhill, UKAD’s director of operations, said they could not establish the truth of Stevens’s claims.
‘It’s not the case that we sat on our hands and did nothing,’ said Myhill. ‘We tried to corroborate it from a number of sources. We certainly shared information with a law enforcement agency.’ Additional reporting: ARTHUR MARTIN
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