The Criminal Court of Penafiel decided on Friday to bring to trial all the defendants (26) of the ‘Prova Limpa’ case, involving former directors and cyclists of W52-FC Porto, “in the exact words of the accusation of the Public Prosecution Service [MP]”.
The information was provided to the Lusa agency by a judicial source on the day the criminal judge informed the parties of the investigation decision, in which all 26 suspects are pronounced (brought to trial).
Among the 26 defendants are Adriano Teixeira de Sousa, known as Adriano Quintanilha, Associação Calvário Várzea Clube De Ciclismo – the club that founded the team -, the former sporting director of W52-FC Porto Nuno Ribeiro and his assistant, José Rodrigues, that respond to the crimes of trafficking in prohibited substances and methods, as well as to the crimes of administering prohibited substances and methods.
João Rodrigues, Rui Vinhas, Ricardo Mestre, Samuel Caldeira, Daniel Mestre, José Neves, Ricardo Vilela, Joni Brandão and José Gonçalves – all serving suspensions imposed by the Portuguese Anti-Doping Authority -, and Jorge Magalhães, whose trial is still ongoing. In the sporting field, they are the former cyclists of W52-FC Porto who are on trial for the crime of trafficking in prohibited substances and methods, as well as Daniel Freitas, who represented the ‘dragons’ between 2016 and 2018.
Former cyclist Hugo Sancho, who has already retired and is serving a four-year ban due to discrepancies in his biological passport, will also be charged with the crimes of trafficking and administering prohibited substances and methods.
The investigation, an optional phase aimed at deciding by a criminal judge whether the trial will continue and in what form, was requested by some of the suspects.
The criminal judge considered the evidence supporting the use of doping practices by athletes of the W52-FC Porto team, in particular the continued use of blood manipulation, as well as the administration and consumption of prohibited substances in competition, as “consistent, unequivocal and diverse” . and beyond competition”.
“The analysis of the transcribed elements shows that the constant use of doping practices, in the period 2021 and 2022, is related to the team, to the intervention of the respective managers, support staff and to the cooperation of other And in the broader scope from the analysis of the reported activity we could certainly demonstrate the existence of a real ‘doping plan’, which was so widespread within the team, that it was possible to collect essential evidence on the bus, in the support car, in the places where the athletes stayed and in the homes of most of them”maintains.
The criminal judge believes so “on a date not specifically established, but at least since the year 2020, the defendants Adriano Sousa, Hugo Veloso [contabilista e diretor geral da equipa] and Nuno Ribeiro […] formulated the goal of increasing the profitability of their cyclists in the events they participated in, all with the aim of achieving better results in the competitions they participated in, for their own benefit and that of the team they led..
“Always in pursuit of the goal described above […]defendant Nuno Ribeiro, who abused his status as sports director and the dominance he thus had over the cyclists in his team (namely because he was the one who decided whether or not to call cyclists to races) – Jóni Brandão, João Rodrigues, Samuel Caldeira, Ricardo Mestre, Amaro Antunes, Rui Vinhas, Ricardo Vilela, José Neves, Jorge Magalhães and José Gonçalves – encouraged their use of the substances betamethasone, growth hormone (contained in the drugs Somatropin, Genotroi and Saizen), luteinizing substances hormone ( contained in Menotropin and artificially stimulated by the drug Gonarodelin), TB-500, IGF hormone, testosterone and insulin, as well as the extraction and reintroduction of blood”continues.
Nuno Ribeiro, the judge says, gave cyclists instructions “About the days, times and method of administration of the above-mentioned substances […]; I purchased them and then gave them to cyclists; he kept them at home and in hotels during races to give to cyclists; also during races he prepared the substances and left them in the syringes in the riders’ rooms or called them to his room and gave them to consume; he always had betamethasone and menotropin available in his hotel room (in competition); I asked them what they had taken and when.”.
The criminal judge also estimates that Adriano Sousa, Hugo Veloso and Nuno Ribeiro “They have seriously abused their profession, violated their duties to act in favor of the sporting development of sport and cyclists and sports truth, encouraged and promoted doping among athletes, showed disregard for their physical integrity and health , with a concrete and well-founded fear that they will, if possible, continue this criminal activity”.
Yet cyclists – only Amaro Antunes saw his case filed – “the actions described above are always performed freely, voluntarily and consciously”.
The trial, by a collective court, will take place at the Penafiel court.
Source: DN
