Rafael Benítez Denies Football Has A Doping Problem

Benítez Denies Football Has A Doping Problem

Chelsea manager Rafael Benítez has denied football has a doping problem despite the trial of Dr Eufemiano Fuentes indicating otherwise.

After Lance Armstrong finally admitted to using performance-enhancing substances, Spanish doctor Fuentes is in court in Madrid after police raided his offices seven years ago and seized around 200 bags of blood.

Operación Puerto has so far led to the naming of other cyclists who doped however Fuentes has also said he has helped tennis players and footballers.

Last year Barcelona denied Dr Luis García del Moral was ever on the club's payroll however Valencia did not respond to the Daily Telegraph's requests.

Benítez believes football has improved its doping measures

Benítez though remains unconvinced football has a doping issue and says it is "improving" in its measures.

"I think it's not just in Spain - it's Australia, England, everywhere," the Spaniard said at his pre-match press conference. "So, in football, in sport, it's something that's improving every year. Again, I will say that I'm quite happy if they have controls and they do what they have to do.

"I think it's very simple to talk because doping is a big word but, at the end of the day, there are too many [everyday] things that you can do [that would be considered doping].

"For normal people, it would be nothing. For sport, that would be doping. I think it's not easy and, in a press conference, there are details you cannot explain here. If they are doing controls, fantastic, and if they have better controls, even better."

Football has a long history with doping dating back to the Juventus EPO scandal and the more recent banning of players such as Edgar Davids, Frank De Boer, Fernando Couto, Jaap Stam and Diego Maradona.

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