Spain is Furious Over a French Video

Written by: Staff on 9th February 2012

Spain is Furious Over a French Video |

While the Spanish Tennis Federation is furious with a French TV comedy video that suggests that Rafael Nadal is guilty of doping and that it will sue Canal France Plus, his uncle and coach is not taking the matter so seriously.

The TV show, called The Puppets and one of the most popular satirical shows in France, included a logo of the Federation in a video that showed a Nadal look-alike puppet urinating into the gas tank of his car before racing off in it. The tag line at the end was ‘Spanish athletes: they don’t win by chance’ while displaying the logos of the Spanish Tennis Federation as well as of other Spanish sports federations.

While the Spanish tennis authority is particularly sensitive about the subject of performance enhancing drugs after former Roland Garros champion Yannick Noah suggested in a newspaper article that the success of the Spanish could not be due entirely to their training methods, Toni Nadal says the sketch was meant in jest and that the family will take no legal action.

“The French can wait forever (for Rafa to test positive),” he told La Marca. “There is no chance, the chance is zero. If they want to wait they can wait. It’s funny that they mess so much with Rafael and Spanish sport. All elite athletes pass the control tests, it is impossible to cheat. Rafael had 20 and I think some were a surprise, it is difficult to cheat.”

The TV station has issued an apology.

Topics: French TV, Rafael Nadal