WADA chief insists Ramos can't be an exemption in drug case

It is the curious case of the King of Spain, Real Madrid's pantomime villain and the failed drugs test.

It sounds comical but the light it sheds on football's anti-doping efforts may yet have more serious ramifications, with World Anti-Doping Agency vice president Linda Helleland saying that all athletes should be treated equally.

The latest release of Football Leaks emails revealed that Sergio Ramos, reviled by many for his tussle with Mohamed Salah in June's Champions League final, had failed a drugs test after the 2017 showpiece.

Ramos tested positive for dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory steroid with performance-enhancing qualities, after the 4-1 win over Juventus.

The substance is banned in competition, though it can be used in small doses if a doctor then informs drugs testers that it has been applied: the punishments can be career-threatening if the rules are ignored.

American boxer Eric Molina received a two-year ban from UK Anti Doping for the same offence after a bout with Anthony Joshua in Manchester in December 2016. Molina, like Ramos, had also failed to declare the anti-inflammatory and even though it was accepted he hadn't intentionally cheated, he received the ban.

Ramos though had a couple of alibis, one of them being Juan Carlos I, the former King of Spain. After being informed in July 2017 that Ramos had failed a drugs test, Real Madrid swung into action.

Their club doctor, identified as 'Dr A' in the emails and believed to be Mikel Arremberi, took the blame and pleaded mitigating circumstances.

Ramos's drug-test form, which was filled in immediately after the game when he was called for testing, had stated that he took another anti-inflammatory, celestone chronodose. The doctor argued that in the celebratory aftermath of the game Ramos had been congratulated in person by Juan Carlos I in the anti-doping room, and indeed tweeted a picture of himself with the former king.

The doctor said in the 'euphoria' he himself had made 'human error' which was 'understandable' by inadvertently noting down the wrong drug. The doctor wrote that he never intended 'to infringe any anti-doping regulation.'

UEFA sought independent advice and determined that the amount of dexamethasone was consistent with what would be expected if it had been injected for legitimate purposes and so, despite a prima facie offence having been committed, they excused Ramos on this occasion and issued a warning to the doctor to be more careful in future.

However, Football Leaks has also revealed that the Spanish Doping Control wrote to Real Madrid to highlight Ramos' behaviour when asked for a drugs test after a game against Malaga in April this year.

Ramos insisted on taking a shower first even when informed it was prohibited by the doping control officer. The rule is intended to prevent athletes manipulating their sample in the shower prior to a test. Ramos ignored the warnings and took the shower in front of the doping control officer.

In addition UEFA had written to Real Madrid about an incident in February 2017 about Cristiano Ronaldo's behaviour when UEFA-sanctioned drug testers swooped to carry our random blood tests.

They wanted to test ten players and UEFA reported Cristiano Ronaldo 'complained that I was always selected' and then 'showed his dissatisfaction' when the tester took at least two attempts to find a vein from which to draw blood.

With UEFA reporting there was 'a lot of tension in the doping control situation' Real Madrid insisted that their own staff perform eight of the remaining blood extractions which, though contrary to regulations, UEFA accepted 'exceptionally… due to the tension of the situation'.

In responding to the Ramos test, UEFA dismissed claims of a cover-up. 'All UEFA doping control cases are conducted in full compliance with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code,' it said.

'UEFA has informed both WADA and FIFA of all such cases as required by the WADA Code and UEFA has provided all detailed information, expert reports and evidence during the handling of such cases.'

It is understood that the WADA legal director Julien Sieveking signed off WADA's approval of UEFA's handling of the case at the time and copied in WADA director general Olivier Niggli to correspondence.

The Ramos case highlights the chaotic state of anti-doping legislation, with different authorities having different interpretations of the same violations. Molina will doubtless query why his sanction was so strict in comparison to Ramos.

On Saturday WADA vice president Helleland, who is standing for election to take over from Sir Craig Reedie, said: 'We must ensure that all athletes are treated equally and fair. It is one set of rules and testing procedures applying to all athletes regardless of sport and competition level.'

Ramos said on Saturday: 'My legal team will come out against these accusations as Real Madrid and Uefa have already done. Throughout my career I have been through over 300 controls and never failed to comply. After 15 years I have never refused a doping control.'

The defender also issued a formal statement that added: 'I am completely against doping. I have never, nor will I ever, participate in doping or give my consent to anything related to doping.'