Sky doctor’s tribunal delayed again

THE medical hearing for former Team Sky and British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman is in danger of becoming a farce amid concerns that delays could prevent UK Anti-Doping from acting on any new evidence. It was due to start last week, having been allocated 20 days in Manchester from February 6. But an initial application for a 48-hour adjournment by Freeman’s legal team has been followed by a further preliminary legal application that the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service expect to continue for the rest of this week. That means it could be day nine before the tribunal, which centres on an allegation that Freeman ordered the banned drug testosterone for an athlete in May 2011, formally begins. It is therefore unlikely a conclusion will be reached by March 5. If the tribunal is only part-heard, it would have to be reconvened, presenting logistical issues for lawyers and witnesses. Indeed there are concerns the hearing may not be over this side of Christmas. Any date beyond May is a potential problem, not least for UKAD because the statute of limitations for an alleged doping offence in May 2011 was eight years. That said, UKAD do not have to wait for the conclusion of the Freeman tribunal before launching an investigation into the delivery of Testogel sachets to the National Cycling Centre that is home to Team Sky and the British Cycling team. Any evidence presented during the tribunal over the next three weeks could be enough to trigger a UKAD investigation, while anti-doping chiefs might justify such a move based on the explosive General Medical Council allegations that were listed by the MPTS last month. A statement yesterday from the MPTS said: ‘The tribunal hearing Dr Freeman’s case will continue to consider a preliminary legal application in private throughout this week.’