The Sunday Times has revealed that a group of unnamed tennis players were part of over 150 athletes who received Performance-enhancing drugs from a London-based private doctor.
In what is one of the biggest doping stories to strike Great Britain in recent time, The Times discovered that private doctor, Mark Bonar, charged athletes thousands of pounds for a series of performance enhancing drugs, including steroids and EPO.
The investigation recorded Bonar claiming that he has also given illegal drugs to Tour de France cyclists and Premier League footballers. The investigation started after The Sunday Times received a tip-off from an athlete, who previously reported the issue to the UK anti-doping agency (UKAD) in 2014. The agency dismissed the allegations and said they were of ‘little value’.
“In relation to this specific case, UKAD commenced an investigation into Dr Bonar following interviews with a sportsperson in April and May 2014. 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.” The UKAD said in a statement.
The general medical council has confirmed that Dr Bonar does not hold a license to practice medicine in the UK. It is understood that Bonar evaded any penalty in 2014 because his work was not governed by any sport and therefore it was outside of the UKAD’s jurisdiction.
During a consultation with an undercover reporter for The Times, Dr Bonar claimed that doping is widespread in a variety of sports.
“I have never met a clean athlete.” He said.
“Some of these treatments I use are banned on a professional circuit. So, you have to be mindful of that. Having said that — I have worked with lots of professional athletes who do use these treatments.”
Following the report, the British government has ordered an investigation into the UKAD and their management of the case concerning Bonar.
Three of the biggest clubs in British football (Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester) have denied that their players have been involved in doping, calling the claims by The Sunday Times ‘false’. There is yet to be any comment from senior tennis officials surrounding the revelations.
The latest incident comes at a time when tennis has been under heavy scrutiny regarding the effectiveness of their anti-doping program. Maria Sharapova is currently suspended from competition after she announced last month that she tested positive for Meldonium. The former world No.1 will attend a hearing with the ITF in the near future.