Mamadou Sakho has received an apology from WADA, who will also pay him damages according to Matt Slater of The Athletic. The ex-Liverpool centre-back had been falsely accused of taking a banned substance but was later cleared.
Mamadou Sakho Receives Apology and Damages from WADA
WADA Statement and Apology
The World Anti-Doping Agency made a statement to apologise for their “defamatory allegations”.
“WADA accepts that it should not have made the defamatory allegations it did in the First Press Statement and the Second Press Statement given that Mr Sakho had been acquitted by UEFA.
“WADA accepts that Mr Sakho did not breach the UEFA Anti-Doping Regulations, did not cheat, had no intention of gaining any advantage, and acted in good faith.
“WADA regrets the damage the defamatory allegations caused to Mr Sakho’s reputation and the distress, hurt and embarrassment caused to him.
They are set to pay “substantial damages” to the ex-Liverpool player. It is unclear as to the total sum of damages. Liverpool Echo have mooted that Sakho initially sued WADA for £13m.
Sakho Did Not Cheat
WADA had defamed Sakho after he had failed a drugs tests back in March 2016. There were two press statements in 2016 and 2017 where WADA said that Sakho had taken a banned substance.
The player complained of how many media outlets quickly picked up and distributed the story. But, it was not the media outlets who were to blame since they were using their qualified privilege.
He did test positive for higenamine, but by July 2016 UEFA had cleared him since this wasn’t actually on WADA’s banned list.
At the time, he was playing regularly for Liverpool. The club had no choice to suspend him whilst he was still accused of taking a banned performing-enhancing substance. As a result, he missed the Europa League final, in a 30 day suspension period. His club lost 3-1, with a calamitous second-half performance shipping three goals.
France did not select Sakho for the Euro 2016 squad. The player claimed that this was due to his suspension that he missed the chance of being able to play the tournament for his country.
Sakho Happy But Warns Other Athletes
Outside of court, Sakho said: “I feel happy, happy for my family, happy for all my friends, for all the people who were around me during this tough year because it is not easy when you are a professional footballer or athlete.
“This is the worst thing you can be accused of, doping. Today is a big day for my story. I think it is important for athletes to have this kind of example and to be careful about everything they are taking.”
Since 2017, Sakho has been playing for Crystal Palace. The 30-year-old has made 64 league appearances for The Eagles.
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