The full story is revealed...
After last night's
shocking revelations that a British doctor has been aiding up to 150 international sports stars to take performance-enhancing drugs, today's Sunday Times has this morning published their entire exposé of the alleged dealings of Mark Bonar.
The newspaper recorded an undercover meeting with Bonar, a Harley Street anti-ageing specialist, in which he claims to have "worked with some high-profile people", including cricketers, boxers, cyclists, martial artists and tennis players, providing drugs such as human growth hormone, EPO and testosterone.
But it is his reported association with Premier League footballers, until now an arena mostly devoid of doping scandals, that will draw most attention.
Bonar told the undercover reporters that he has worked with "a few footballers" who had played or were still playing in England's top flight with Arsenal, Leicester City, Chelsea and Birmingham City.
The paper writes:
He named some of the footballers, including players who are extremely well known to fans. He claimed one was give a "cocktail" of steroids and another had approached him recently seeking a similar treatment to extend his playing career.
Bonar said none of his players had ever tested positive for drugs. "Footballers are hardly ever tested anyway," he said. "Think about it, you're like in your thirties and you're on the football pitch. How do you keep up with the 18-year-olds on the pitch unless you're doing something. If you're not doing something then you are going to get screwed over."
Bonar also claimed to have been referred clients by a former fitness coach at Chelsea and Barcelona, Rob Brinded, but Brinded has strenuously denied working with the doctor and Bonar himself has denied any wrongdoing.
The Sunday Times acknowledged that it had no independent evidence of Bonar's claims.
Chelsea and Arsenal also denied any doping incidents at the clubs, while Leicester warned that any trangressions would result in dismissal and Birmingham requested more time to respond.
The UK Anti-Doping Agency has also come under fire after the newspaper revealed that it had been made aware of Bonar's alleged activities but had decided not to act.
Also in the story, it is claimed Bonar:
- Offered to treat a fictional team of athletes hoping to qualify for the Olympic Games for £15,000 a month.
- Treated Tour de France cyclists, including some from Britain. "One guy who did the Tour de France, it was just incredible," he said. "Especially when you are going uphill or you need more oxygen to get to your muscles. It's amazing."
- Named a well known British boxer he was treating, as well as an England international cricketer.
- Prescribed two banned substances to an undercover athlete despite there being no clinical reason to do so.
- Claimed the treatment of Lance Armstrong over his doping offences has been unfair, because his rivals were "on the same gear".
