PUMA has voiced its support for Arsenal over the doping allegations that
have rocked English football, claiming it "fully trusts" the club and
does not believe that any of its partners or players are involved in the
scandal.
The Sunday Times published an article at the weekend alleging that a private doctor, Mark Bonar, had prescribed banned performance-enhancing drugs to more than 150 athletes, including a number of Premier League footballers.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester City and Birmingham City were all named by the newspaper as having current or former players prescribed medicines by Bonar.
Both Arsenal and Chelsea stated on Sunday that the allegations were "without foundation", while Leicester City dismissed the claims as "unsubstantiated".
The Gunners' shirt manufacturers', PUMA, has now broken its silence on the matter.
"PUMA is not aware of any partnered football club, player or athlete to be or have been involved with Dr. Bonar, or indeed any illegal medical treatments," a company spokesperson told Goal.
"PUMA fully trusts and expects all of its partners to compete with honesty and integrity, and with full respect and adherence to legislation outlined by the World Anti-Doping Agency."
The UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) investigated Bonar in 2014 but revealed that "there was nothing to indicate that Dr Bonar was governed by a sport".
The British government has ordered an immediate inquiry into UKAD for its handling of the alleged activities, and the English FA has pledged its full support to any investigation into the situation.
The Sunday Times story is the latest doping scandal to hit sport, with tennis star Maria Sharapova currently facing a lengthy suspension after testing positive for meldonium at this year's Australian Open.
Despite insisting that she had been taking the drug for 10 years and was unaware that it had been declared a banned substance at the start of 2016, Sharapova was dropped by two of her most high-profile sponsors: Nike and TAG Heuer.
ALL CREDITS: GOAL.COM
0 comments:
Post a Comment