2024-09-03 16:13:34
Rafael Nadal defended world No. 1 Yannick Siner after the latter tested positive for doping but avoided punishment after being acquitted, Reuters reported. The Spanish legend said the Italian had no intention of taking banned substances and that he cannot be treated differently just because he is world number one.
In March, Siner tested positive for the muscle-building steroid clostebol, but was cleared after the commission accepted his version that the result was due to his physiotherapist treating a wound on his arm before massages, with a spray containing the prohibited substance, transmits BTA.
Nadal believes that anti-doping organizations can be trusted.
“I have the quality or the flaw of believing in the good will of the people. I know Siner and I don’t believe he wanted to dope,” Nadal said on the El Ormigero TV show. “I don’t think we should like things if they are decided the way we want it. At the end of the day, justice is justice and I believe in it,” added the legend.
“I believe in organizations that have to make decisions and do it when they believe it’s right,” Nadal said.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) exonerated Siner, judging that the level of clostebol found in his body was less than one billionth of a gram.
Novak Djokovic called for “clear protocols” and a “standard” approach to doping cases, while Australia’s Nick Kyrgios believed Siner should have been punished regardless of whether his positive tests were “accidental or deliberate”.
“I am absolutely convinced that if he is not sanctioned, it is because those who are supposed to judge him have decided clearly that there are no sanctions to be imposed,” said Rafa Nadal, who missed the US Open.
“I don’t believe that because he is Siner he is not punished, and if it was someone else, he would have been punished. The opinion of others is also fully worthy of respect, but this is my opinion,” concluded Rafael Nadal.