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Cyclist arrested in Tour de France raid

Tour de France team Cofidis have suspended Frenchman Remy Di Gregorio over doping allegations, the team announced on the race's first rest day on Tuesday.

Cyclist arrested in Tour de France raid

Di Gregorio, 26, was arrested following a police raid at his team’s hotel in Bourg-en-Bresse, several miles outside Macon in eastern France where the race will resume for the 10th stage on Wednesday.

A team statement said: “We have just learned that one of our riders, competing at the Tour de France, may have attempted to resort to doping substances to improve his performance.

“At the current time, we have very little information about the facts of the case.

“However the suspicion on the rider concerned, Remy di Gregorio, leaves us with no choice but to hand down the strictest possible sanctions.

“Remy di Gregorio is therefore immediately suspended, provisionally, while we await more ample information on the case.

“If the suspicions are confirmed, he will be sacked on the spot — in accordance with the stipulations in his contract and in line with the ethical policy of the team.”

It is not the first time one or several riders from Cofidis have been embroiled in a doping affair.

Several riders including Briton David Millar and Frenchman Phillipe Gaumont were implicated in a damaging doping affair in 2004, leading to radical changes at management level.

Three years later, under pressure from organisers, the team voluntarily left the 2007 Tour when Italian rider, Cristian Moreni, tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin).

In 2007, current Tour de France leader Bradley Wiggins, now of Team Sky, was part of the Cofidis team that went home after the 16th stage.

Tour de France officials have yet to comment on the case.

But Cofidis hope to avoid the same fate as five years ago.

The statement added: “We believe however that this isolated case should not place any doubt on the team’s continued participation in the Tour de France, or penalise those who have nothing to blame themselves for.

“The team will therefore line up for the race tomorrow morning.”

Cofidis stressed they had the strictest rules concerning ethics in the team.

“In recent years we have put in place an exemplary anti-doping programme that goes well beyond what is imposed by the international anti-doping authorities.

“We see that in spite of these measures we are powerless in the face of individuals with no scrupules who tarnish the image of the sponsor and sully the reputation of all the riders in the team.

“Consequently, all existing measures will not only be maintained but reinforced in the coming days.

“We want to make it loud and clear: anyone who cheats has no place in the Cofidis team.”

Di Gregorio was arrested earlier Tuesday as part of an investigation into the organised trafficking of doping substances, Marseille magistrate Jacques Dallest told AFP.

He was taken into police custody in Bourg-en-Bresse and was brought to Marseille for further questioning by investigating magistrate Annaick Le Goff, Dallest said.

Two other unidentified men, who are suspected of “having dealings” with Di Gregorio, were also taken into police custody.

Le Goff said earlier that the investigation had been “opened last year”.

Prior to joining Cofidis for the 2012 season Di Gregorio raced with the Astana team, which is also racing the Tour de France.

Astana were also thrown off the race in 2007, after then leader Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan tested positive for blood doping.

Di Gregorio turned professional in 2005. His most notable success was a stage in the Paris-Nice in March 2011.

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CRIME

Spain women’s World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

The crisis within Spanish football deepened Friday as the women's World Cup winners demanded more heads roll at its scandal-hit RFEF federation whose disgraced ex-boss appeared in court on sexual assault charges.

Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

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