WADA Hits Back at UCI Threats To Sue
MANCHESTER, England, March 26, 2008 (AFP) - The World Anti Doping Agency said Wednesday it has consulted lawyers following last week’s announcement by world cycling chiefs that it intends to sue former WADA chief Dick Pound.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) said it intends to sue Pound for “continual injurious and biased comments” against the UCI’s former president Hein Verbruggen.
When both in office, Verbruggen and Pound were involved in a bitter war of words, with Pound especially vocal about the UCI’s need to address its doping issue.
WADA issued its own statement Wednesday, in which it also hit out at the UCI for failing to contribute financially to the doping hearing involving American Floyd Landis.
“This action by UCI in suing WADA’s former president is in fact an action against WADA,” said the WADA statement.
“WADA will instruct legal counsel to represent WADA and its former president in this regard, and to robustly defend and reject the unfounded allegations made by the UCI.”
WADA also said it was regrettable that the UCI would intend to use its finances to sue WADA instead “rather than assisting in the funding of the
(Floyd) Landis appeal”.
Landis’s appeal against a positive test at the 2006 Tour de France was heard earlier this week.
Despite the appeal being heard under UCI rules, WADA claims the UCI refused to contribute despite it being heard under delegated authority from USA Cycling, the UCI’s national member in the US.
The WADA statement added: “… the appeal was specifically conducted under UCI rules, involved a breach of the sport’s anti-doping policy, and is a major case for the sport.”
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