German anti-doping body has not been publishing names of drug cheats, broadcaster says
About 90 per cent of doping-related offence cases – involving 70-130 athletes – have not been made public in the past five years, ARD says
The National Anti Doping Agency of Germany (Nada) has not published the name of convicted doping offenders for a few years, according to a report by broadcasters ARD published on Sunday.
The report said that some 90 per cent of cases in the past five years have not been made public. According to ARD calculations, the number of athletes who committed a doping-related offence is between 70 and 130.
The Nada cited legal risks and data protection as a reason.
“In its anti-doping work, the Nada is committed to transparency, accountability and valid decisions. However, this goes against the current data protection legislation,” Nada CEO Lars Mortsiefer was quoted in the report.
According to the report, cases have not been published in the recent past, but only acknowledged when there were concrete media inquiries about cases that had become known by name.
ARD said that athletes from at least 18 Olympic sports are affected, but did not provide any information on how well known and successful the convicted athletes from these sports are.