TOULON PRESIDENT MOURAD Boudjellal has hit out at French media group RTL for what he perceives as a soiling of the European champions’ image by linking them to doping.
On Tuesday, RTL had reported that Toulon were implicated in an investigation into fraudulent practices by certain chemists.
Boudjellal is very angry with RTL. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The public prosecutors in Toulon and Marseille are investigating chemists with whom Toulon have worked in the past for the illegal issuing of medication.
But Boudjellal said RTL’s report had linked his club to doping and the president threatened to make an official complaint.
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“Since the beginning of the week Toulon have been associated with doping. That is hugely prejudicial. We’re going to make a complaint against RTL,” Boudjellal said during an angry outburst at a press conference in Toulon today.
“The public prosecutor and the official responsible for the fight against doping at the (French rugby) union have clarified that it isn’t about doping.
What more needs to happen? Do we need (French president) François Hollande himself to confirm that this case is not about doping?”
“With what’s happened these last 24 hours, everyone has understood the media fraud committed by RTL. And that from a journalist who got hold of some information she considered orgasmic.
“She just forgot to ring me, as any good journalist would do. She settled for a biased investigation.”
Boudjellal continued his attack on the journalist in question, making an inappropriate threat.
Boudjellal is an outspoken figure. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“We’ve wasted a week with this story, I’m going to make her waste an afternoon: I’ll give her telephone number to the Mayol crowd tomorrow (during Saturday’s home match against La Rochelle),” said Boudjellal.
Marseille’s public prosecutor had said that his investigation is “about a failure to respect the public health code in relation to the issuing of medication.”
Brice Robin also stated that the Toulon investigation is related to health service fraud and that neither concerns doping.
On Tuesday, RTL had announced that Toulon were being investigated in Marseille and that the AFLD suspected Toulon’s chemists of illegally providing the club’s players with medication including “antibiotics, antihistamines, but also anabolic steroids”.
Boudjellal retorted that the club had not worked with one implicated chemist for a year and that the chemist was suspected of having written fake prescriptions in order to defraud the health service.
'We've wasted a week with this story, I'm going to make her waste an afternoon'
TOULON PRESIDENT MOURAD Boudjellal has hit out at French media group RTL for what he perceives as a soiling of the European champions’ image by linking them to doping.
On Tuesday, RTL had reported that Toulon were implicated in an investigation into fraudulent practices by certain chemists.
The public prosecutors in Toulon and Marseille are investigating chemists with whom Toulon have worked in the past for the illegal issuing of medication.
But Boudjellal said RTL’s report had linked his club to doping and the president threatened to make an official complaint.
“Since the beginning of the week Toulon have been associated with doping. That is hugely prejudicial. We’re going to make a complaint against RTL,” Boudjellal said during an angry outburst at a press conference in Toulon today.
“The public prosecutor and the official responsible for the fight against doping at the (French rugby) union have clarified that it isn’t about doping.
“With what’s happened these last 24 hours, everyone has understood the media fraud committed by RTL. And that from a journalist who got hold of some information she considered orgasmic.
“She just forgot to ring me, as any good journalist would do. She settled for a biased investigation.”
Boudjellal continued his attack on the journalist in question, making an inappropriate threat.
“We’ve wasted a week with this story, I’m going to make her waste an afternoon: I’ll give her telephone number to the Mayol crowd tomorrow (during Saturday’s home match against La Rochelle),” said Boudjellal.
Marseille’s public prosecutor had said that his investigation is “about a failure to respect the public health code in relation to the issuing of medication.”
Brice Robin also stated that the Toulon investigation is related to health service fraud and that neither concerns doping.
On Tuesday, RTL had announced that Toulon were being investigated in Marseille and that the AFLD suspected Toulon’s chemists of illegally providing the club’s players with medication including “antibiotics, antihistamines, but also anabolic steroids”.
RTL later stated that the medication was in fact “antiretroviral drugs, asthma inhalers, antibiotics and human growth hormones”.
Boudjellal retorted that the club had not worked with one implicated chemist for a year and that the chemist was suspected of having written fake prescriptions in order to defraud the health service.
- © AFP, 2015
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Top 14 counter attack Journalist Mourad Boudjellal RTL Toulon