The doctor at the center of the Operation Puerto drug bust in a Spanish court of endangering public health, seven years after a raid on his clinic sent shockwaves through cycling.
Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and banned from working as a doctor for four years. Three of his colleagues were acquitted, while Ignacio Labarta, a former trainer of the cycling team Kelme, was handed a four-month sentence, according to .
Judge Julia Patricia Santamaria rejected calls from international sports federations and anti-doping authorities for permission to analyze the 211 blood bags found in the raid, several of which may have been used by the Basque soccer team Real Sociedad, and other soccer and tennis players.
Update: The Spanish Anti-Doping agency intends to appeal the judge’s decision to destroy evidence found in the raid. “We know the truth that says that Dr. Fuentes is not a good doctor because he did some practices that are very bad for the health of athletes. But, on the other hand, it is necessary to know the names of the athletes,” Ana Muñoz, the director of the agency, told the .