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The successes of Team Sky and British Cycling over the past decade were clouded by suspicion on Friday after their former chief physician Richard Freeman was found guilty of ordering banned testosterone “knowing or believing” it was for an anonymous cyclist to enhance his performance. .
In a devastating verdict that will send shock waves through British sport, Freeman was also found guilty of “concealing” his conduct after purchasing “a doping drug of choice for sport” by orchestrating an elaborate cover-up.
Freeman, who worked for Team Sky and British Cycling between 2009 and 2017, had already admitted 18 of the 22 charges against him, including buying banned testosterone, lying to the UK Anti-Doping Agency and keeping random records. However, he had contested four charges related to the delivery of 30 Testogel packs, prohibited in and out of competition, to the headquarters of British Cycling and Team Sky in Manchester in June 2011.
But in a landmark decision, the Medical Practitioners Court Service said it found Freeman’s claims that he had purchased the erectile dysfunction drug from former British Cycling and Team Sky coach Shane Sutton “implausible.”
“As a very experienced physician, the reason Dr. Freeman claims to have ordered Testogel [to treat Mr Sutton] it was not convincing in itself, ”he said. “Spread the credulity that an experienced, high-profile sports doctor would order a potentially banned substance under the World Anti-Doping Agency code; however, despite the importance of this, no record is made of the intended patient, the circumstances, and the proposed unauthorized use. “
“The court concluded that Dr. Freeman’s account of ordering the Testogel for Mr. Sutton required him to believe too many implausible and unsubstantiated claims, as well as having to overlook more falsehoods, on the basis of which Dr. Freeman had already admitted ”.
“The position, therefore, is this,” he added. “In May 2011, Dr. Freeman, the elite cycling team physician … ordered an anti-doping ‘drug of choice’ for that sport. Upon his arrival, he was dishonest about why he had been sent, took him out of the Velodrome and was never seen again. “
Freeman, who served as a senior doctor for the British cycling team that dominated the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics and was also a doctor when Team Sky began winning multiple big tours, insisted last year that he had taken the testosterone. home and threw it down the sink. But the court said they only had his word that his account was true.
“Considering the extent of Dr. Freeman’s dishonesty and the number of people he had attracted, the court found that his conduct could not provide an innocent explanation,” the MPTS report concluded. “It was clear that, considering the odds, it could be correctly deduced that when Dr. Freeman placed the order and got the Testogel, he knew or believed that it should be given to an athlete to improve athletic performance.
The identity of the rider for whom testosterone was allegedly ordered has never been established, nor did the General Medical Council attempt to prove it.
Freeman had also claimed that Sutton intimidated him into placing the order. The court accepted that Sutton had been a “harsh and irascible character” who, “when under pressure, actually engaged in bullying behavior.” However, they said there was no evidence that Sutton had been bullying Freeman in 2011, and they found him as a credible witness.
Speaking after the verdict, Sutton admitted that the decision had overshadowed both Team Sky and British Cycling, but denied having knowledge of the testosterone order.
“I’m saddened by the whole thing,” he said. “I feel sorry for the doctor; who ever got into this situation, and I’m still disappointed that I was used as a scapegoat. It has caused great pain to both me and my family. But I am also saddened that this episode has overshadowed the success we enjoy, both in Team Sky and in British Cycling.
“I would like to emphasize that neither I nor Sir Dave Brailsford knew about the testosterone order. “But I think it’s important to find out who the doctor prescribed it for. Hopefully that will emerge from the UK Anti-Doping investigation. “
The protracted case, which was expected to last a month when it began in February 2019, has dragged on for more than two years. He will sit down again next week to assess whether Freeman’s license to practice is affected, and then again in April to deliberate on whether he should lose his medical license or face any other punishment for his behavior.
Freeman will also face two anti-doping charges in the UK related to ordering banned testosterone, including possession of a banned substance and tampering. A tampering charge covers an attempt to subvert any aspect of doping control, including an investigation. Freeman is understood to have contested part of the charges and requested a hearing.
British Cycling, Team Ineos and UK Sport have been asked to comment.
