Real Madrid have leapt out to defend centre-back Sergio Ramos after he was caught up in doping allegations.
According to the latest Football Leaks reports, Ramos failed a doping test following the 2017 Champions League final but it was allegedly covered up by Uefa.
Did Sergio Ramos breach doping regulations? Five key things to know…
- Real Madrid took on Juventus in the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff, with Ramos captaining the side in their 4-1 win.
- But now it has been alleged the Spaniard provided a urine sample post-match, as is the norm, which tested positive for dexamethasone, a steroid hormone which has an anti-inflammatory effect as well as relieving pain.
- Furthermore, the report claims Uefa kept the breach quiet and did not take any disciplinary action.
- However, Real Madrid have unequivocally denied these claims, insisting everything with the tests followed protocol before the case was closed.
- The 2017 final brought Sergio Ramos his third Champions League winners medal, which he followed up with another this summer.
Given the nature of the claims, and subsequent cover up, Real Madrid were quick to release an official statement in defence of their captain – directly referring to the report.
In a statement on the club’s website, Real Madrid said: |With regards to the reports published by Der Spiegel in relation to our captain, Sergio Ramos, the club wishes to express the following.
“Sergio Ramos has never breached anti-doping regulations.
“UEFA requested specific information and immediately closed the case referred to, as is customary in such instances, following tests carried out by experts from the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) and UEFA itself.”
Real Madrid also refused to comment on the other claims in the initial report, believing them to be of ‘insubstantial nature’.
“In terms of the rest of the content published by the aforementioned publication, the club will not be making any comment, given the clearly insubstantial nature of the reports.”
No official statement has yet been given by Uefa over the claims and their part in allegedly covering for Ramos.
What were the initial allegations against Sergio Ramos?
As reported by Der Spiegel, the World Anti-Doping Association does allow dexamethasone to be administered prior to matches, but it needs to be reported by the team doctor as part of a doping test.
Should the doctor fail to do so, and traces of dexamethasone be found in an athlete’s blood, it will be considered as a suspected case of doping – which is what reportedly happened with Ramos.
The report went on to claim, the doctor wrote down the wrong medication on the form attached to Ramos’ sample, which he would put down to a mistake due to the euphoria of Real Madrid winning the Champions League as well as presence of the former King of Spain in the doping area to visit Ramos.
As a result of the doctor owning up to the problems, it was reported Uefa were happy with his explanation and reasoning for the failure to document the use of dexamethasone and closed the case of Ramos.
The post Real Madrid deny claims Sergio Ramos breached anti-doping rules ahead of Champions League win appeared first on Squawka News.
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