November 26 – Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has strongly denied a doping infraction following a report that he allegedly breached the rules after the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff.
Ramos has dismissed the allegations against him as a “lie” and a deliberate attempt to tarnish his reputation.
According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, Ramos failed to declare he had taken dexamethasone ahead of the 2017 Champions League final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, in which Real beat Juventus 4-1. While it’s legal to use the anti-inflammatory substance, UEFA have to be notified which allegedly wasn’t the case.
“It is true that it hurts, and obviously I will come out with my legal team against these people, who try to stain my status and my professional career,” Ramos said in a statement.
“After 15 years, I have never refused an anti-doping test, I have never breached any procedure and I have passed around 250 to 300 tests.
“When you know the truth, you can act with a lot of tranquillity. You can tell the lie many times over but it is still a lie.”
“In relation to the information published about me across a number of different media outlets, I would like to clarify the following – I am vehemently opposed to doping.
“I have never participated, nor will I ever participate in, nor have I consented to, nor will I ever consent to, any form of doping.”
According to Der Spiegel, an unnamed doctor, in a letter to UEFA seen by the publication, said he had accidentally written the name of a different drug on the doping report after the match as Ramos was being tested.
Testers were told Ramos had injections of betamethasone in his left knee and left shoulder rather than dexamethasone which was not declared at the testing stage.
Ramos explained the Cardiff incident as follows: “I received a standard medical treatment administered by the club’s medical professionals. The matter was clarified and resolved formally and in writing between the organisations.”
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