CONI: Suspend Valverde Two Years
by Chris Fontecchio on May 11, 2009 12:02 PM EDT
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PrintThe Italian Olympic Committee has played its card against Alejandro Valverde and Operacion Puerto, issuing a two-year suspension to Spanish star Alejandro Valverde for doping back in 2006. Valverde is officially forbidden from racing on Italian soil for two years -- which rules out this year's Tour de France, as it dips briefly into Italy. CONI's action was based on a blood test taken at last year's Tour, also briefly in Italy, which didn't itself contain doping products but matched the famous "valv.piti" bags of blood seized in the Operacion Puerto sting, and which did contain doping products. Expect Valverde to lawyer up and to keep racing in Spain for a while, though if the UCI extends the punishment worldwide Valverde may indeed be in for a vacation.
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Bummer
But we knew it was coming…. Damn it..
"the rest was over 30. And that doesn't mean old and useless, but experienced and with the stamina"
Jens! Voigt, Crit Intl Interview, 2009
He lost all my sympathy with what he did after the DNA matched.
That was the moment to step up and say, “Yeah, okay. Fair cop.” and take his two years with grace. Instead, he stopped saying “I’m innocent!” and started saying “Nyah nyah you don’t have jurisdiction over me!” That killed it for me. Good riddance.
+1
We got a lot of angry bluster and nothing else.
We could have had a little contrition alongside all the lawyer talk, but no.
What sort of due process does Italy provide for something like this? Also, what about an injunction?
Can he sue to race while his lawyers try to sort it out (I can’t recall reading that he had any representation at any CONI hearing)? Curious b/c I have the bum in my VDS. Once he gets some points for me this year, toss his cheating hide.
one round of appeal
then to the CAS. Meanwhile, though, he will be disinvited everywhere, except the Vuelta.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on May 11, 2009 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions
What's the round of appeal?
Thought it went directly to TAS now. This is the final step in Italy, the Tribunale thingy.
Should be an interesting TAS ruling.
Here's what I don't understand
And I realize that I know next to nothing.
I do understand about the CAS appeal.
What about his lawsuit about jurisdiction? That’s not a CAS thing, right? How does that fit in?
Also since the Vuelta starts in Holland I’ll bet he won’t ride that either unless he wins something in court.
No, it's not a TAS thingy.
He’s suing CONI in regular court, I believe. Not sure what sort of court would handle that actually ;-)
I’ll check around in Italy for some more infos on where things stand. Capodacqua should have a nice summary of the thing up at some point.
Judge Serrano is the one who will be hearing the appeal...the same judge who threw the case out 2 times.
by Vlaanderen90 on May 11, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
That's a Spanish thing
my guess is that he quietly withdraws that suit. Although you never can tell what Spain will do.
An inquisition, perhaps
Bork, bork, bork!
by TheFigurehead on May 11, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Why wouldn't he start in the Vuelta?
The Netherland can’t do anything with it..
Crashdan: "Veni Vidi Vici beats Wing Kong Exchange... … and I’ll change my signature to a backwards smile for a month."
Franzoi wins Parijs-Roubaix and I win a date with the VDS of Team Txirrindulariak..
If the UCI honors the suspension andhe starts the Vuelta it could have repercussions for the RFEC
Especially if he loses at the CAS first. I imagine the UCI and maybe even the IOC could impose penalties against rogue federations.
I forget (if I ever knew)
How did the Italians come to be in possession of blood samples from Operation Puerto?
District Attorney in Rome
is the one who got them, and they remain in his custody. It’s part of the collaboration between the criminal authorities and CONI in Italy.
Haven’t read the NYT report on this, but there’s been a ton in the Italian press. The Italian government can do things that the UCI and WADA can’t. It’s the difference between being a government entity and an org.
Someone from NAS (the Italian anti-doping police)
filled in a request form and sent it to Spain. It happened to arrive while Serrano was on holiday, and the judge who was standing in for him just said OK and sent everything. Serrano wasn’t happy when he got back.
Here's the relevant quote from the NYT article above
“How CONI got the blood packet and the vouchers has not been made public, although they are suspected to have been furnished by officials of the Guardia Civil”
When I first read it it sounded sketchy to me, perhaps not. I hope not, since CONI has decided to ban him.
Not especially sketchy
No, it’s not sketchy. It’s all been done according to Italian law. It remains to be seen whether it will stand up to appeal to the Arbritration court. Also, Valverde’s lawyer has had plenty of opportunity to defend him.
We’ll see what happens in the next stage.
That quote seems misleading if not plain wrong.
It’s fairly well documented that the information was gained in the manner Monty states. I do dislike the assumption that somehow there is no due process in these cases. If anything, Italian legal culture sufffers from an excess of “due process”, which is why so many Italian court cases end up being inconclusive. If anything, the Italians (both NAS & CONI) deserve credit for investigating not only Valverde but their own riders, whereas in Spain on the other hand…
Kudos and raspberries are probably heading their way
1. I believe the cafe is lawyer-heavy, so you’ll always get doubts about due process in doping cases. (Lawyers love procedure.) Most of it comes from Anglo-American legal prejudices against the way that WADA and the CAS are set up, and I have those prejudices myself. I’m not wild about private bodies setting up international quasi-courts that courts themselves pay deference to.
2. That said, I believe Italy has been pretty forward-thinking in its handling of doping issues. Conconi and Ferrari were prosecuted, but protected under Italian procedure—-perhaps a loss for the anti-doping fight, but a win for the statute of limitations . . . Santuccione has been dealt with aggressively. Sella and Ricco have been treated fairly (too fairly for some).
3. I applaud CONI for its handling of Valverde here, despite him being one of my favorite riders. They acted, it seems, with deliberation, and have outed Spain’s authorities as feckless in the anti-doping fight. Good for CONI.
agreed
Both about credit being due, and about the legal process. The Ferrari case is a great example of the dedication to process in the Italian courts.
Yeah
I’ve read about this (Midnight in Sicily? one of the Berlusconi books? Can’t recall), which isn’t the same as fully understanding it, but the view of the book was that the Italian legal system gives so much process to the competing views that Big, important trials inevitably grind to a halt with little or no closure.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on May 11, 2009 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions
That's a different thing
One really horrible reform of the Italian courts is the interpretation of the statute of limitations that Berlusconi’s govenment introduced, which basically means that if a trial hasn’t completed every single possible appeal process within 8 years of the crime then you are automatically innocent. So if you can afford an expensive lawyer who uses evey delaying tactic that he can think of, the clock inevitably runs out and even if every stage up till then has found you guilty you still get off.
How CONI got the blood (thanks to Capodacqua)
They got the international warrant, and in January sent a team of 4 to the lab in Barcelona where the blood is being stored. Two NAS police, a haematologist and some other sort of technical consultant (un tecnico investito della consulenza), to take a sample from blood bag 18. At every stage they documented, photographed and videoed what they were doing, then analysed it for DNA at a lab in Rome.
And interestingly
Capodacqua reckons that Contador might be one of their next target. Is this just speculation or does it come from one of his well-placed contacts.
All right, nice
Good when everything is documented and open. Free exchange of information is a fundament of science and progress.
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