He seems to be not the most appropriate person to talk about doping, but the great Yannick Noah did it during an interview with Le Monde.
According to the Frenchman ‘How can a country (Spain) dominate sport from one day to the next?’ he asked. ‘Had they discovered avant-garde training techniques and methods that no one else imagined?’
‘We’re not being treated in the same way as the majority of our adversaries from other countries,’ Noah said. ‘The best attitude to adopt is to accept doping. And then everyone will have the magic potion.’
The reaction from Spain
As you can imagine the Spaniards where not really happy about this remarks.
Toni Nadal said Noah’s accusation ‘not only comes from envy, it comes from a lack of reflection.’
‘If he approaches Rafa to say hello, I hope my nephew tells him, in a courteous manner, what he thinks of him, because I believe it is totally incorrect for him to speak of this subject in this way,’ Nadal said.’It surprises me that a person of doubtful reputation like him would dare to speak poorly of Spanish athletes.’
‘His son plays in the NBA, where there are not any anti-doping controls,’ Ferrer said. ‘Perhaps he is not the most appropriate person to speak about this.’
Pep Guardiola was a bit more direct saying that Noah ‘should present his evidence or shut up.’
The French Minister of sport Douillet had also a remark on Noah’s words
‘What are we saying in reality when we want to institutionalize doping? We imagine that our children will die at 40 or that 12-year-old kids will take pills in the locker room, that’s what that means,’ Douillet said on France 2 television.
Alejandro Blanco, president of Spain’s Olympic Committee, told that ‘it is very difficult for ignorant people to understand the explosion of Spanish sports.’
