Reuters: Sports News: Spain determined to prevent Mullera competing

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Spain determined to prevent Mullera competing Aug 2nd 2012, 17:51 Angel Mullera of Spain (R) sits on the track near Matthew Hughes of Canada after their men's 3,000 metres steeplechase heat at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu August 29, 2011. Credit: Reuters/David Gray MADRID | Thu Aug 2, 2012 1:51pm EDT MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will continue its fight to prevent steeplechaser Angel Mullera from competing at the London Games following his implication in a possible doping violation, the president of the country's Olympic Committee (COE) said on Thursday. The Spanish athletics federation (RFEA) dropped Mullera from the Olympic team last month after a newspaper published an email exchange between an address in his name and an unidentified doctor in which a possible doping plan was discussed. The athlete, who said he never followed through with the plan, appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and they overturned the RFEA's decision, saying the federation had used an "improper procedural course". The COE, the RFEA and the government's sports council (CSD) appear undeterred, however, and Alejandro Blanco was quoted as saying in Spanish media they intended to "take this case to the end". "Nobody can play around with doping and compete in a Games and even the intent to dope should stop you being at the event," he said. "Because doping is not just about testing positive, it's also about putting in doubt whether you or your team are clean," he added. "In this case there is more than reasonable doubt with the exchange of emails." An ad hoc CAS panel made their ruling after a hearing in London on Tuesday at which Mullera and his two lawyers were present. The RFEA told the panel their decision to drop him from the team was prompted by the negative publicity the case generated and concern the spirit of the Spanish team would be disrupted should Mullera be allowed to compete in London. They have also started a disciplinary procedure to punish him although no sanction has yet been levied. ARBITRARILY EXCLUDED The CAS panel dismissed the RFEA's arguments, according to the full ruling published on the court's website (www.tas-cas.org) on Wednesday. "The RFEA provided no evidence whatsoever (such as, for example, written or oral testimony by some of the Spanish Olympic team members) that the Spanish team's spirit might truly be affected by (Mullera's) presence," the ruling said. "The RFEA arbitrarily excluded Mr. Mullera from the Spanish team and thus violated its own selection criteria," it added. The court also admonished the federation for not acting earlier, noting that both the RFEA and the CSD had been sent copies of the apparently incriminating emails six months before they appeared in the Spanish media. "The national federation was aware for many months of evidence pointing to a possible anti-doping rule violation and, nevertheless, chose to select the athlete and then decided to drop him only after some articles appeared in the media," the ruling said. "A national federation should pursue the fight against immoral practices regardless of any pressure exercised by the media," it added. The CAS panel made it clear they did not condone Mullera's behavior and said they were relying on the RFEA to investigate the matter and if necessary pursue it "through the proper channels". The Olympic steeplechase heats start on Friday. (Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Justin Palmer) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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