Arsenal, Chelsea & Leicester Deny Doping Claims

The Sunday Times published the article in which they claimed that London-based private doctor Mark Bonar prescribed banned performance-enhancing drugs to over 150 British athletes including footballers.

Arsenal said they were “extremely disappointed” by the publication of the claims, “which are without foundation”. Chelsea added that the claims were “false and entirely without foundation” and “we never used the services of Dr Bonar and have no knowledge or record of any of our players having been treated by him or using his services”.

Leicester, team which were accused mostly because of latest success and development, said : “We are extremely disappointed that The Sunday Times has 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 says that they were secretly recording Marc Bonar on camera while prescribing drugs such as EPO, steroids and human growth hormone to elite sports professionals from the UK and abroad over the past six years, including:

• Premier League Players,
• The England cricket national team,
• Cyclists,
• Tennis players.

The Football Association released a statement a few days after. “These are very serious allegations. As such, The FA welcomes UK Anti-Doping’s decision to immediately launch an independent review into the matters raised by the Sunday Times. The FA is fully committed to maintaining the integrity of English football and will work with Ukad and other relevant agencies in seeking to do so. The FA urges anyone with information that may be relevant to come forward as soon as possible”.

We have to wait and hope that The Sunday Times conjectures are only conjectures.