Dr Richard Freeman: No evidence former British Cycling doctor ordered Testogel to dope riders, tribunal hears

The General Medical Council has failed to provide a "smidgen of evidence" that former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman ordered Testogel in order to dope a rider, a medical tribunal has been told.

Freeman's QC Mary O'Rourke concluded her summing up at the doctor's long-running fitness-to-practise hearing on Friday, arguing that the GMC's case was built on "surmise and speculation".

Freeman has admitted 18 of 22 charges against him, including ordering 30 sachets of Testogel - a medicine containing testosterone - to the National Cycling Centre, but denies the central charge that he did so knowing or believing it was to enhance an athlete's performance.

"They haven't got a smidgen of evidence to show that he ordered the Testogel in order to dope a rider," O'Rourke said. "They can't identify a rider... it doesn't add up."

Freeman has instead insisted he ordered Testogel after it was requested by former performance director Shane Sutton to treat erectile dysfunction, which Sutton denies.

Though Freeman has previously admitted lying to UKAD investigators about the case, O'Rourke said his explanation was the only one that "makes any sort of sense".

"He answered every question," O'Rourke said. "He ducked nothing. It's the only account that makes any sense.

"And in the circumstances you should find the remaining charges not proved and give Dr Freeman credit for confessing to the other charges."

O'Rourke argued that Freeman had nothing to gain from doping a rider.

"It would be the most bizarre thing to do," she said. "It wouldn't get him any personal gain. What's in it for him if he gets an (anti-doping rule violation)? He's at risk for being knocked out of the sport for two to four years."

And O'Rourke also sought to shoot down suggestions Freeman might have acted out of fear for his job.

"It's a ludicrous suggestion that one rider performs better because he has had 30 sachets of Testogel and suddenly everybody says, 'Well done Richard Freeman' and claps him on the back and it secures his job," she said.

Instead, O'Rourke turned her focus on Sutton, who gave brief but explosive testimony to the tribunal in November 2019, when he stormed out of the hearing after denying claims that he was a "liar, a doper and a bully".

"The atmosphere in the room, and the fear created by it, was extraordinary," O'Rourke said of that day.

"You need to say to yourself, why did that happen? Why was there such an explosion? Why didn't simply Shane Sutton say, 'It wasn't me and I've got nothing to hide'? He wanted to stop being asked anything."

O'Rourke later added: "One possibility was that Sutton was getting (Testogel) for nefarious reasons and had a rider he coached who wanted it. But that was not the GMC's case.

"If it was Shane Sutton and he'd had a rider he wanted to give it to, he'd have every reason to walk away and not co-operate."

O'Rourke also expressed surprise that GMC QC Richard Jackson had not called a number of witnesses relevant to the case, not least Team Sky principal and former British Cycling chief Sir Dave Brailsford.

"Dave Brailsford is the spectre missing at these proceedings and would have been able to answer an awful lot of questions about what was going on at British Cycling and Team Sky," she said.

The tribunal will now retire to consider a verdict on the facts. Tribunal chair Neil Dalton said in his conclusion that the panel must decide what weight, "if any", to give to Sutton's evidence given he left before cross-examination was completed.

The hearing has been adjourned until March 2, when a verdict on the facts is due.

Meanwhile, Sky Sports News has contacted UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) after it was reported that Dr Freeman had been charged with two violations of anti-doping rules.