Former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman has been found guilty of ordering testosterone “knowing or believing it was to be administered to an athlete to improve their athletic performance,” a medical tribunal in Manchester ruled on Friday.
Dr. Freeman was charged by the UK’s Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) with ordering 30 sachets of banned substance Testogel for an athlete in 2011.
He previously admitted to 18 of the 22 charges against him but said he was pressured into ordering the banned substance by former head coach Shane Sutton.
Sutton had denied the allegations and the tribunal ruled Dr. Freeman’s claims were an “elaborate falsehood.”
Following the MPTS decision, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has placed Dr. Freeman on “a provisional suspension from all sport.”
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British Cycling CEO Brian Facer said Dr Freeman “failed in his duties as a doctor.”
In a statement, Facer said: “The finding that the 2011 delivery of testosterone gel was intended for the illegal enhancement of a rider’s performance is extremely disturbing … The wider actions of Dr Freeman described in the tribunal fall a mile short of the standards we expect.
“This is a day for sober reflection and we know that?will be felt by the thousands of people who race their bikes in this country and love our sport, from the Great Britain Cycling Team to the grassroots,” added the statement.
“We also know that they will share our view that all those who work in our sport must adhere to the highest standards of ethical behaviour.”
Team GB, which is the umbrella organization for individual sports – such as cycling – at an Olympic Games said: “We support the work of both British Cycling and UK Anti-Doping in their pursuit of the truth in this important and concerning matter.
“The public should be confident that those working in sport are doing so to the highest ethical standards. Our view is clear, that where they fall short of this obligation they should be held fully accountable for their actions.”
CNN has contacted Ineos Grenadiers, the cycling team previously known as Team Sky, but did not receive a response.