British sports minister demands inquiry into doping claims

Sharapova positive test sparks renewed vigilance in NZ

LONDON, April 4, (Agencies): Britain’s sports minister called for an inquiry after a newspaper report alleged a Londonbased doctor treated more than 150 sports stars with banned performance-enhancing drugs.

Secret filming made public by Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper showed London-based Dr Mark Bonar talking about providing professional athletes -- including Premier League footballers, British Tour de France cyclists, tennis players and a British boxer -- with banned substances including steroids, human growth hormone and the blood-booster EPO.

John Whittingdale, Britain’s sports minister, demanded an urgent investigation after it emerged that United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) first knew about the allegations two years ago but took no action at the time.

“I have asked for there to be an urgent independent investigation into what action was taken when these allegations were first received and what more needs to be done to ensure that British sport remains clean,” he said.

“If it becomes clear that stronger criminal sanctions are needed then we will not hesitate to act.”

UKAD said it could only investigate athletes and their entourage who fall under a sporting governing body.

“Following those interviews and an investigation UKAD found that there was nothing to indicate that Dr Bonar was governed by a sport and UKAD had no other intelligence to corroborate the sportsman’s allegations,” UKAD chief executive Nicole Sapstead said.

Elsewhere, Germany’s public broadcaster ARD/WRD which has carried out a joint investigation with the Sunday Times and was behind the doping revelations that led to the ongoing suspension of Russian athletes from international competition, screened an investigation on Sunday in which it said Bonar repeated his claims.

“I have worked with footballers from the Premier League and also players from abroad,” he was heard to say, boasting he had given a famous name “EPO, testosterone and growth hormones”.

But the Omniya clinic in London, where the 38-year-old Bonar rented consulting rooms, said they had no record of him treating a sportsman or woman except for the undercover athlete used by the Sunday Times.

“We have checked our records thoroughly during the period Dr Bonar worked at Omniya and apart from the un-

Bonar

Djokovic matched Andre Agassi with a sixth career Miami crown by taking his third in a row, became the all-time ATP money leader with $98,199,548, set a record with his 28th ATP Masters crown and moved to 11th on the all-time match win list with 714.

“As I go along in my career and I achieve so much success, especially the last two years, I give myself more opportunities to actually make records,” Djokovic said.

So pondering the ultimate mark, an 18th Grand Slam title, is no shocker.

“Of course it’s in the back of my mind somewhere,” Djokovic said. “But I don’t have it as a main motivation. Because then things can go a little bit out of control, maybe can present some kind of distraction that I don’t need.”

dercover athlete the Sunday Times used in its investigation, we can find absolutely no trace of a single high-profile sportsman or woman who has been treated or been seen at the clinic by Dr Bonar,” the practice said in a statement.

Niall Dickson, the chief executive of the General Medical Council, which regulates doctors in Britain, said: “These are serious allegations and we will follow them up as a matter of urgency.

Bonar is facing GMC action later this month over a separate claim he did not take proper responsibility for the care of a patient with incurable cancer.

Although no individual patients were named by the Sunday Times, the newspaper said Bonar had treated players at top English football clubs, including Premier League leaders Leicester.

Leicester, however, denied any link to Bonar, saying in a statement: “Leicester City Football Club is extremely disappointed that The Sunday Times has

Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with the Butch Buchholz Trophy after winning the Men’s Final against Kei Nishikori of Japan during Day 14 of the Miami Open presented by Itau at Crandon Park Tennis Center on April

3, in Key Biscayne, Florida. (AFP)

In the past 23 Grand Slam events contested, Djokovic has 10 titles, seven runner-up efforts, five semi-final losses and one quarter-final defeat.

As the ATP season shifts from hardcourts to clay, Djokovic knows he can complete a career Grand Slam and add to his hefty total of major trophies with a tri-

published unsubstantiated allegations referring to players from clubs including Leicester City when, on its own admission, it has insufficient evidence to support the claims”.

The Sunday Times, which has been involved in several exposes concerning doping in international athletics over the last 12 months, said they had no independent evidence that anti-ageing doctor Bonar had treated the unnamed players.

In their footage, Bonar said: “Some of these treatments I use are banned on the professional circuit.”

He added: “I do not ‘dope’ or treat patients for the sole purpose of performance enhancement even though these treatments may enhance performance as a secondary effect.”

Athletes in New Zealand have become more vigilant about the medication and supplements they take in the wake of Rus-

sian tennis player Maria Sharapova’s positive test, Drug Free Sports New Zealand (DFSNZ) said on Monday.

The five-times grand slam champion announced in March she had tested positive for the banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open in January.

Sharapova said she had been unaware that it had been banned by the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA) from Jan. 1. Since then, more than 100 athletes across a variety of sports have been found to have used it.

“It is sad that a famous athlete has been caught out in this way, but the good outcome for us is that it has helped get our message across to athletes that they need to check all medications and supplements carefully,” Drug Free Sports New Zealand (DFSNZ) Chief Executive Graeme Steel said on Monday.

DFSNZ is a government body that implements the World Anti-Doping Code in New Zealand.