Spain Responds Angrily to Noah’s Drug Accusations

Written by: Staff on 20th November 2011

Spain Responds Angrily to Noah’s Drug Accusations

The world's number one tennis player, Rafael Nadal, hits the ball as his coach Toni Nadal looks on during a training session held 01 May 2011 during the Masters 1.000 tennis tournament at the Magic Box arena in Madrid, central Spain, 01 May 2011. EPA/EMILIO NARANJO |

(Above Toni Nadal and Rafael Nadal)

Not surprisingly there was an angry backlash from the Spanish sporting fraternity following Yannick Noah’s accusation that the nation’s entire sporting integrity is tainted by the use of banned performance enhancing drugs.

Toni Nadal, the uncle and trainer of world no.2 Rafael Nadal, led the reaction to Noah’s remarks, maintaining the Frenchman’s views came :”Not only comes from envy, it comes from a lack of reflection.”

Nadal sr., speaking on the Spanish radio station SER. continued: “If he approaches Rafa to say hello, I hope my nephew tells him, in a courteous manner, what he thinks of him, because I believe it is totally incorrect for him to speak of this subject in this way.

“It surprises me that a person of doubtful reputation like him would dare to speak poorly of Spanish athletes.”

David Ferrer, like Rafael Nada, preparing for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, was equally damning of Noah and questioned: “Your son [Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls] plays in the NBA, where there are no doping controls. This is not the best person to talk, I think it’s total ignorance. For a person who has played tennis and knows how the sport works to say that is outrageous with reason or thinking.”

Feliciano Lopez used Twitter to stress his disappointment that one of his onetime heroes would say such stupid things while former Wimbledon champion Manolo Santana added: “It seems out of place. Spain is now the leading power of sport and statements like that are not good for him and not for sport in general.

“When people want fame, the only way to have it’s messing with a person or an entity as large as Spain in sport. In basketball, soccer, tennis, Formula One, athletics — in all sports Spain is at the forefront.”

Pep Guardiola, coach of Spanish football giants Barcelona, said at a press conference on Saturday following his team’s win over Zaragoza that Noah “should present his evidence or shut up.”

Alejandro Blanco, president of Spain’s Olympic Committee, told El Pais that “it is very difficult for ignorant people to understand the explosion of Spanish sports.”

French Minister for Sports David Douillet condemned Noah’s accusations as irresponsible, and said he hoped to introduce a criminal penalty for doping.

“What are we saying in reality when we want to institutionalize doping? We imagine that our children will die at 40 or that 12-year-old kids will take pills in the locker room, that’s what that means,” Douillet said on France 2 television.

“DAILY TENNIS NEWS WIRE”