Big scandal in Spain. The agency hid the positive test results of Sergio Ramos

The Spanish Anti-Doping Agency (CELAD) has been involved in concealing positive doping tests from 2017 to 2022, utilizing various methods to evade disciplinary action against Spanish athletes following these positive tests.

According to the Relevo investigation, during these five years, the anti-doping agency gained undue advantage by conducting doping tests with only one controller instead of the required two as per Spanish legislation.

One of the methods involved sending case opening documents via mail instead of electronically. Athletes weren't timely notified, leading them to file complaints with the Sports Tribunal. Subsequently, their cases were archived due to notification deadline violations.

In some instances, anti-doping investigations were simply not initiated. For instance, track athlete Patrick Ike Chinedu tested positive for three prohibited substances. Although this information appeared in the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) online system, no investigation was launched, allowing Ike to continue competing.

Additionally, the agency's leadership turned a blind eye to these violations despite being aware of them. Furthermore, sources suggest that individuals involved in the corruption scheme might have utilized state funds to conceal information about athletes' positive doping tests.

Football, particularly La Liga, was not exempt from this. In one case of test result falsification, Sevilla defender Sergio Ramos was implicated. In 2018, during his time with Real Madrid, Ramos breached the testing procedure by showering before providing a urine sample, which is against the rules.

Ramos managed to avoid disqualification precisely because the doping test was conducted by only one controller instead of two.