Dr Richard Freeman worked with ‘sleepers’ in British Cycling and Team Sky when buying testosterone, tribunal hears 

Dr Richard Freeman worked with “sleepers” in British Cycling and Team Sky to buy testosterone to help an athlete dope, a medical tribunal has heard.

Freeman is currently facing a medical misconduct tribunal over allegations he ordered 30 sachets of testosterone in 2011 and the lied to cover up the order. 

The former Team Sky and BC doctor has admitted 18 of the 22 charges against him, but denies obtaining the banned substance to give to a rider to dope. 

Summing up the General Medical Council’s case, Simon Jackson QC said Freeman had been working with unnamed former dopers in BC and Team Sky to dope a rider. 

Jackson said: “I underline that Team Sky and British Cycling were not aware of this but there were sleepers, there were dopers in the past who were within these organisations, when Dr Freeman was acquiring the Testogel. 

“They had doped before. And so these aren’t bold allegations in the sense they are unsubstantiated. The GMC has been able to pull all these strands together. The only reasonable conclusions are they weren’t clinically indicated but they were used to dope a rider.” 

Freeman’s Medical Practitioners Tribunal hearing, being held in Manchester, centres around allegations Freeman ordered 30 testosterone sachets, which were delivered to British Cycling headquarters in Manchester in 2011, and then lied to cover up the order. 

He has admitted 18 of the 22 charges against him, but denies the banned substance was ordered for an athlete to dope, instead claiming he was “bullied” into ordering the testosterone by Shane Sutton to treat Sutton’s erectile dysfunction. Sutton denies this.

Jackon also cited medical evidence that there was no clinical basis for giving testosterone to treat erectile dysfunction.  

The GMC also raised doubts about whether Sutton had sent bullying texts messages as Freeman had failed to provide any evidence supporting that claim.

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In response, Freeman’s legal representative Mary O’Rourke, said: “There are things that Mr Jackson has said this morning, and at 2.30pm this afternoon, that we have never heard before. He’s put a completely different case. I perceive a complete change in the GMC’s case.” 

The tribunal continues with O’Rourke due to begin her summing up on Tuesday (January 26).